Aftermath
by WriterAtHeart14
Summary: Post The Battle of Starcourt Mall, Mike helps El deal with the foreign emotions she's been feeling since escaping the mall. As the smoke clears and questions begin to arise, how will El handle losing her father? CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM SEASON 3! Used to to be a oneshot, is now a multi-chapter story!
1. The Aftermath

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So much has happened since the last time I've posted! I've been trying to write some more Stranger Things fics, but I've been having a hard time coming up with much. I was in the middle of writing a oneshot when season 3 came out, and it completely threw me off. Season 3 was crazy, let me tell you. Which reminds me: **

**IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED SEASON 3 DO NOT READ THIS FAN FICTION! THE FOLLOWING FAN FICTION CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FROM SEASON 3 OF STRANGER THINGS! **

**So basically, I would suggest not reading this until you've finished the new season. This is what I like to imagine happened between the last scene and the "three months later" epilogue in The Battle of Starcourt Mall. **

**Also a mini rant: I loved this season a lot, and as usual it was amazing! But what really bugged me was how El and Max's friendship came across. Trust me, I am all for female empowerment, and I think El could learn a lot from Max as a friend, which would definitely help her lead a more normal life. But the constant Mike bashing that seemed to be a theme in their relationship bugged me A LOT. Anytime Mike tried to be protective of El, because he'd seen her powers drain her and take a toll on her, it was always made into him being controlling and not allowing El to "be her own person" which was an issue when she spent all of her time with Mike, but not when Mike was literally trying to protect her. **

**ANYWAY-everyone is allowed to have their own opinion, but I hope y'all enjoyed the season, and enjoy this fic!**

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Mike watched as Eleven cautiously slipped out of the blanket they were sharing, and gently stepped down from the back of the parked ambulance. Will had just found Mrs. Byers and was embracing her tightly, as if they were both in disbelief that the other was real. What Mike wanted more than anything was to hold on to El just as tightly, as he had once again just watched from the sidelines helplessly as she was almost taken by the Mind Flayer right in front of him. But he knew El needed to find Hopper. She needed to make sure that he was okay too. Mike wanted to give her that time alone with him.

As he watched Will reunite with his mom, he began scanning the parking lot that had quickly become a disaster area. The mall still burned beyond them, and there were military, firemen and police officers running around, trying to get a handle on whatever the hell happened in the last twenty-four hours. As if on instinct, his eyes landed on the back of a yellow and navy patterned shirt wearing girl, who was staring at Mrs. Byers.

Mrs. Byers was staring back at El, and it seemed as though when they locked eyes Mrs. Byers began to cry harder.

Mike could see El shaking her head in disbelief, and suddenly he knew exactly what happened. Just as she was about to collapse to the ground, he pushed past the paramedic that was standing in front of him, ignoring their shouts to try to get him to sit back down. He didn't care about the welt on his face, he didn't even feel it anymore. As if in slow motion, he ran up to El, wrapping his arms around her just as her legs gave out from beneath her, slowly lowering them both to the ground.

She leaned into him, burying her head into his chest as her body shook with sobs.

"It's okay, it's okay," he kept repeating into her ear over and over.

"He's gone, Mike," she managed to tell him, although he already knew. "My dad is gone."

Suddenly Mike felt awful for ever getting mad at Hopper for keeping him and El apart. Although he still thought it wasn't fair, and he didn't understand why, he regret ever disrespecting Hopper. Despite all of that, he did appreciate Hopper, because he took care of El and protected her. Hopper was the reason El was still around and safe. Mike knew how much El loved him, and he knew how much this hurt her. He knew nothing he could say would make this better, so he just held her.

Mrs. Byers must have finished hugging Will, because she walked over to them and crouched next to them. She put a hand on El's shoulder, who immediately turned and hugged her. They stayed like that for a while, with Mike silently watching from his spot next to them. El's body continued to shake with sobs and Mike wanted nothing more than to take away the hurt she was feeling.

Mrs. Byers looked at him over El's shoulder, almost as if checking him over to see if he too was okay and in one piece. When she pulled away from the hug, she lovingly tucked El's light brown hair behind her ears, and gave her a teary grin, as if trying to be reassuring despite the major heartache she must've been feeling. "Do you want to come home with me?"

El seemed to pause, her sobs temporarily subsiding into hiccups. She looked over her shoulder at Mike. The hurt in her eyes broke his heart, and it made him want to take her into his arms and never let her go again. But he knew whatever decision she made, he would respect it, because that's what she needed right now. "Mike," she said finally. "I need Mike."

Mrs. Byers looked at him, asking with her eyes if that was okay with him.

"Yeah, yeah, she can come with me." Immediately El turned to him as he helped her into a standing position, and wrapped her arms around him. He helped her limp over the ambulance where Steve was talking to Nancy and Jonathon. "El's gonna come home with us okay?"

Nancy furrowed her brow in confusion. "But where's H-"

Mike shot her a look of urgency and hoped she would get the message.

She still seemed confused, but changed her wording anyway. "Of course. I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind."

El picked her head up from leaning on Mike and looked around at the older kids. "Wh-Where's Max?"

"Right here," came a voice from behind them.

Mike and El slowly turned around to see Max, wrapped in a blanket from an ambulance, loose hair from her fiery red braids framing her face.

El slowly pulled away from Mike and limped over to her new found girl friend. "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know," Max admitted. "Are _you_ okay?"

"I will be," El said, turning to reach for Mike's hand.

"I'm sorry I called you controlling," Max said, turning to him. "I...I didn't realize how much you actually cared for El."

"And I'm sorry I thought you were plotting against me," Mike said. "I'm glad you and El are friends, just so you know."

Eventually everybody's parents came to pick them up, and although Nancy wanted to stay with Jonathon she also wanted to keep an eye on Mike and El, so she decided to go home. After saying goodbye to everyone, Nancy drove Mike and El back to the Wheeler house. When they got home they were bombarded with questions from Mrs. Wheeler, but before Mike could even think of what to say, Nancy immediately came up with a cover story that there was a freak fire that they'd all gotten caught in at the mall, but that they were okay and clearly exhausted.

"Mike, why don't you take El upstairs?" Nancy suggested.

Mike nodded and carefully helped El upstairs. He gave her a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt of his to change into and helped her to the bathroom so she could change. Once they both were changed, they laid on Mike's bed, on top of the covers. El's head was resting on Mike's chest with her arm wrapped around his torso, and Mike had his arm around her shoulders. He knew that Nancy was going to explain the situation with Hopper (which Mrs. Byers had pulled her aside and explained to her before they left the mall) to their mom, who would hopefully allow El to stay the night without a problem. Mike looked at his girlfriend who was playing the neckline hem of his t-shirt. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she said, still playing with the hem. "Tired."

"I-I don't want to push you," he began. "But I don't want you to keep however you feel about Hopper bottled up."

"Bottled up?" she asked, moving her head so she was looking up at him.

"You know, like, to yourself? Instead of talking about it."

"I-I'm scared," she admitted. Her wide hazel eyes reflected the fear he could hear in her voice, but it wasn't the same kind of fear he'd seen in her eyes before. She was afraid when the bad men were after them. She had been terrified when they'd discovered the Mind Flayer was back, and each time they got closer to destroying it. But this was a different kind of fear Mike was seeing now.

"Why's that?"

"Hop has always been there. I felt safe with him around," she said. "And now he's...gone." Her voice cracked on the last word, causing him to sit up and pull her into a hug.

"It's okay," he said, gently brushing her hair out of her face. "It's going to be okay."

"I-I've never felt like this before...my chest is heavy and it _hurts._"

"That's called grief," he explained. "It's how you feel when you're really sad when someone...passes away."

"Passes away?"

Mike didn't want to be the one who said it first. He wasn't sure if Hopper had ever explained the phrases to her before, but by the look of confusion on her face, it seemed that he hadn't. "When someone you really, really care about dies."

"Gone," she whispered, looking away from him.

"But it's normal to feel that way. Even though its a sucky feeling, it's totally normal," he reassured her. "And you're not alone. You're not the only one who feels that way."

She looked back up at him. "Do you grief too?"

"Well, yeah. I do, and Max does, and Mrs. Byers. Everyone does. I just-I don't want you to feel like you're alone, because you're not."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other. Mike suddenly became aware of how close she was to him. He could feel her breaths on his face, see every scratch she'd developed since this whole ordeal started. Regardless of those, he still thought she was perfect in every way. Before he realized what was happening, she leaned up and kissed him deeply. She reached up and tangled her fingers in his hair, and didn't move them when she pulled back.

"I'm glad you're always here," she said softly.

"I told you, you're the most important thing to me in the world- I mean, the most important person. I meant that."

The smile she gave Mike made everything seem unimportant. Everything that had happened today, and in the past few days, completely faded from his mind. The only person that mattered to him was sitting right in front of him. He didn't know what would happen tomorrow, but as long as they were together, that's all that mattered.

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**A/N-I'm kind of awful at endings but I hope you enjoyed! Please review, it is much appreciated! :) **

**~WriterAtHeart14~**


	2. What Is A Funeral?

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! Sooo... I've decided I'm going to try my hand at a multi-chapter story for the first time in a while. You all seemed to enjoy this story so I've decided to try to continue. As of this point, it's probably going to be a short story, but we'll see! **

**As for now... I am very NERVOUS in putting this out, but please enjoy the chapter :) **

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El awoke the next morning with the familiar smell of Mike's clothes enveloping her immediately. She opened her eyes to find that Mike wasn't with her anymore, but that she was still in his bed with his clothes on. She sat up as the previous night's events replayed in her mind, and then she remembered.

_Hopper is gone._

"Mike?" she called out, hoping he had just gone to the bathroom. When nobody answered she carefully got out of bed and made her way towards the stairs.

"Oh poor Joyce!" She could hear Mrs. Wheeler saying from downstairs. Her voice got louder as El ascended the stairs. "Having to arrange a funeral and now she'll have to take in El. That's a lot for a woman in grieving."

"Think about El, Mom. She just lost her father," El heard Nancy telling her. "She just got him back. She must be heartbroken." Nancy was referring to the cover story Hopper had previously come up with: that El's mother had suddenly become unable to take care of her, and she'd come to stay with her estranged father.

"The way she clung to Mike last night...my heart breaks for her." Mrs. Wheeler sounded very sincere. They didn't interact very much, but Mrs. Wheeler was always very kind to El, and she was thankful for that.

"Imagine the bills of putting together a funeral nowadays," came Mr. Wheeler's voice. "And then having to take care of a third child?"

"Stop talking about her like she's a burden," Mike's clearly irritated voice spoke up. "She's suffering as much as anybody. That was her dad."

"If last night was any indication, I'm not sure she'll handle a funeral well," Mrs. Wheeler went on.

By this point, El had made her way to the bottom of the stairs and tiptoed quietly into the kitchen. "Funeral?" she asked, looking around at the family.

The Wheeler's turned to look at her, all seemingly surprised to see her standing there. "El, sweetie, how are you feeling this morning?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, stepping towards her. "Are you hungry?"

El was silent for a moment as if contemplating. She didn't really feel like eating, but Hopper had always said how important breakfast was and that it was the perfect time for— "Can I have some Eggos, please?" she asked quietly.

Mrs. Wheeler walked over to the freezer. "Of course dear, I'll put some in the toaster for you. Mike? Would you like some?"

"Sure, Mom. Thanks." Mike walked over to El, who was still standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "We'll be downstairs," he said over his shoulder, as he took El's hand and led her to the basement.

When she was sure the door was closed and they'd reached the bottom of the stairs, she finally spoke up. "Mike, what's a funeral?"

This was another thing he didn't want to be the one to explain to El. Not only was it a touchy subject and he didn't want to upset her, but he didn't want to explain it the wrong way. He didn't know how to explain it so she'd understand. But he knew that she trusted him for the answers. "It's like...it's what people do when someone has passed away. They have a funeral. It's kind of how the people who are...still here remember those who have passed away."

"What happens at a funeral?"

"You dress up in black clothes and sometimes they put the person who—passed away, they put them in something called a casket so people can pay their respects."

She furrowed her brow in confusion, which is exactly what Mike was afraid of. "A c-casket?" she asked, stepping closer to him. "Why do people pay dead people 'respects'?"

Mike took her hand again and led her over to the couch. They sat down to face each other. "A casket is what they put you in at a funeral when you pass away. It's like a bed, almost. They put you there so that people can... well, I-I'm not sure. It's just what you're supposed to do. A funeral is like, a specific time and place that people can come to remember someone who's passed away."

"Your dad said they're expensive. A burden?"

"Don't listen to my dad. They are expensive, but it's okay. You don't have to worry about anything, okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to go to the funeral?"

"My mom didn't mean that, she just meant that it might be hard for you...emotionally."

El looked up at him in a way that made his heart hurt. "Sad?"

His shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't want her to have to go through any of it. But he figured it was best if she had an idea of what to expect. "Yeah, sad. Remember what I told you about last night? About grief? Funerals are where people grieve a lot."

She nodded, and he could tell she was trying to understand what he'd been explaining.

"But it's okay. To grieve, I mean. And remember, even though it's a sucky feeling, you're—"

"I'm not alone," she finished for him.

"Exactly. And we'll all be there with you. Through everything," Mike assured her.

"We?"

"Our friends and our families," he explained. "We'll be there too."

"Will you be there?" El reached for his hand again, holding it carefully.

"If you want me to be."

"I want you there, please."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'll be there. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "I don't...I don't feel anything. Is that...normal?"

"Numb," he said reluctantly. "That's the word for when you can't feel anything."

"Numb," she tested out the word.

"How's your leg?" he asked, glancing down.

"Okay," she said. El had almost forgotten about the wound to her leg. As if making up for lost time, she felt a dull pain shoot up her leg. But it was nothing she hadn't felt before. She looked back up at Mike, suddenly becoming more aware of the welt across his face. She reached up and gently brushed her fingers across it, noticing how he flinched ever so slightly. "Does it hurt still?"

"Only a little. The paramedic put some medicine on it last night. I think they gave it to Nancy or something."

_My fault he's hurt, _she thought. El's eyes met his, seemingly searching them for answers. "How are you?"

No one had asked Mike how he felt about the whole ordeal, and he hadn't had a chance to really consider it either. He'd been so concerned with making sure El was okay. And it amazed him that despite everything going on, and however she must be feeling, El still managed to worry about him. "I-I'm okay," he said. "I'm just glad you're okay." Their confusing relationship status tugged at his mind, but he pushed it aside, knowing that there would be time to talk about it later.

She knew he was referring to the fact that they hadn't been separated again, which she was glad about as well. El couldn't imagine if she'd lost both Mike and Hopper in one day. But she could tell he was holding something back. "Mike," she said softly. "Friends don't lie."

The basement door opened, causing them to pause their conversation. Mrs. Wheeler came downstairs with two plates of Eggos. She placed them on the coffee table. "I figured you two would want to eat breakfast down here."

"Thanks Mom," Mike said, turning to face her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Wheeler," El said softly, looking up at her.

"You're welcome. And El, honey if you need anything please let me know." Mrs. Wheeler gave her a reassuring smile, similar to the one Joyce gave her last night. Except, El noticed, with less pain behind it.

...

"El? El, are you okay?"

She blinked. Mike was kneeling in front of her. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed with her knees drawn to her chest. She nodded.

"Do you need anything?"

El shook her head. She figured sitting in Mike's room was the best way to pretend that nothing had happened. She wouldn't have to see what was left of the mall, the cabin-her _home-_in ruins, Billy would still be at the pool, and Hopper would still be out and about on duty. And Mike's bedroom was the one room that never changed, no matter how what, so here was where she wanted to stay.

"You're not talking." He gently put his hand on her knee, causing her to flinch slightly. "Hey, it's okay. It's just me. Do you wanna talk about anything?"

"I-I think I need to talk to Mrs. Byers," she said softly, glancing at the floor.

A small grin spread across his face. "Do you think you'll still fit on the back of my bike?" he joked.

Even though it was the last thing she felt like doing, El couldn't help but smile at Mike's cheesiness. She hadn't ridden on the back of his bike in a long time, but she remembered it vividly.

"That's better." Mike stood up, reaching out a hand to her. "Come on, let's go."

The ride to the Byers' house was uneventful, but it was comforting being so close to Mike on the ride over. His new bike was bigger, and a little less easy to ride on the back of, but she still enjoyed it all the same.

Mike rode up the driveway and put his feet down to stop the bike.

El put her feet down to steady herself, not letting go of Mike just yet.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

El nodded as she stared at the Byers's house. She needed to talk to Mrs. Byers. She couldn't explain why, but she felt like she needed to.

They got off the bike and walked up to the door together. Mike knocked on it gently.

A few minutes later, the door opened slowly, revealing Mrs. Byers looking slightly disheveled, a cigarette between her fingers. "Oh hey kids. How are you?"

"C-Can we talk?" El asked, looking directly at Mrs. Byers.

Mrs. Byer seemed to pause, and then nodded. "Of course, yeah, come in, sweetie."

Mike and El stepped inside the house, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm gonna go talk to Will, okay? Come find me when you're done. And no rush." He said it just loud enough so she could hear.

El nodded and followed Mrs. Byers into the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder to see Mike disappear down the hallway towards Will's bedroom.

Mrs. Byers gestured for El to sit down at the table, and she sat across from her. "What is it, sweetie?"

"I need to know," El began softly. "How he...died."

Mrs. Byers sighed, as she put her cigarette in her mouth. "We were closing the gate, you know that part," she said, as she removed the cigarette from her mouth.

El nodded.

"One of the Russians...I-I don't know who he was or why he was so determined to get rid of Hop," Mrs. Byers explained, looking at the table. "But as we were about to close the gate, he came up behind us and he and Hop fumbled around, and they ended up out by this big machine that was keeping the gate open."

El furrowed her brow in confusion, something that had been happening often lately. "A machine? They made a machine to open the gate?"

Mrs. Byers shrugged helplessly. She never had time to consider the details. She was only ever concerned about closing and destroying it.

"What happened then?"

"It was back and forth for a while, but Hopper managed to throw him into the machine."

El's eyes widened. It wasn't that she was necessarily surprised. It sounded a lot like Hopper to go to extremes to keep those he cared about safe. Anyone who knew him, knew that. But the idea of such a gruesomely quick death made her stomach uneasy, even though this man deserved it.

"But that made the machine malfunction, and he wasn't able to get back into the control room, but we _had _to close the gate." Her voice wavered ever so slightly, and El could see tears in the older woman's eyes. "You all were in trouble, and it had to be done. So he wanted me to close the gate, even though he knew it would...it would...kill him."

El felt tears in her own eyes, but she refused to cry in front of Mrs. Byers. Despite that, she felt proud of her adoptive father. He died because he knew it would keep everyone else safe, and it didn't surprise her at all.

"Oh sweetie, he loved you so much." Mrs. Byers reached across the table, and El cautiously took her hand. "I know his methods were a little unfair sometimes, but he really did love you. Everything he did was for you."

El furiously wiped away the tears that had begun to fall despite her trying to hold them back. "What about the funeral?"

Mrs. Byers wiped her own eyes, but looked confused. "Funeral? Who told you about...?"

"I want to go," she said firmly.

"W-Well of course sweetie, but I-I don't know if...I'm not sure if it's such a good idea."

"Why?" Her mouth was set in a firm line, a habit she had developed when she was trying to focus.

"Lots of people knew Hopper," Mrs. Byers explained carefully. "So a lot of people are going to be there. People who don't know about you. Or people who may be a little too nosey about you. I-It may not be safe for you to be there."

"He was my dad," El said, as a burning feeling rose in her chest. It was something she'd never felt before. Especially not towards Mrs. Byers. "I should be there."

"Sweetie, of course, of _course _I know that, but I have a feeling he would want you to be safe. And in order to do that, especially after everything that just happened, it's probably best you don't go."

El stared at the older woman, as the feeling in her chest fell to her stomach, making it uneasy. How could Mrs. Byers keep her from the funeral? The Wheeler's made it sound so important, like she should be there. So why was Mrs. Byers suddenly telling her she shouldn't go? El stood up suddenly, causing Mrs. Byers to jump. "I have to go." She made her way towards the door quickly and could hear Mrs. Byers scrambling to follow.

"El, honey, wait!"

But El couldn't wait. She couldn't just sit there and take it anymore. She threw the door open and stormed out of the house, and because she couldn't think of anything better, she ran. Even when she heard Mrs. Byers calling after her, she just kept willing herself to go faster. She didn't know where she was going, but it had to be better than here.

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**A/N-I'll be honest guys... I'm really nervous about posting this story because I haven't written a multi-chapter story in a very long time. So this might be slow, so bear with me, please. But regardless, I hope enjoyed. Reviews are always appreciated. :) **


	3. Rest, Recovery and Rules

**A/N- I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**This chapter is actually really long, but I felt like it was really hard to write for some reason? But I hope you guys enjoy! **

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El kept running until she couldn't anymore—that and when she realized that her leg was practically screaming in pain. She'd been running down the road from the Byers's house, and had made it pretty far. She limped off to the side of the road towards the woods and not so gracefully eased herself into a sitting position. She grimaced as she rolled up the pant leg of Mike's sweatpants to reveal the once clean bandage stained a dark red.

"El? El!" She could hear Mike calling for her as her bike approached the spot where she had planted herself on the side of the road. His bike came to a stop next to her and he dropped it immediately when he saw her looking at her leg. "Are you okay?" He kneeled down next to her.

"Hurts," she said through clenched teeth.

"We should probably take you to the hospital—"

"No doctors," she interrupted him. Last night she couldn't help but allow the paramedics to tend to her wounds. She _did _need the help, but she didn't plan on going back to see a doctor any time soon.

She could feel his gaze on her, but she refused to look up at him. "El, it could get worse if you don't—"

"It's not safe," she reminded him.

Mike sighed. He knew she was right, and he didn't want to put her at risk but what if something was seriously wrong? He'd never forgive himself. "Okay, we'll ask Nancy and my mom for help. Is that okay?"

She nodded wordlessly, still not making eye contact with him.

He stood up and and helped her up and onto his bike.

As she held onto his shirt as he maneuvered them back onto the road, she could feel her sudden negative feelings melting away. She knew that Mike especially didn't deserve the silent treatment, even if she was upset at Mrs. Byers's wanting her to stay home from the funeral. She leaned her head against his back, and she could feel him glance over his shoulder at her, but he didn't say anything else.

It wasn't until they rode up into the Wheeler's driveway and into the garage when he carefully got off the bike, that he finally turned to her. "El, I meant what I said last night. I don't want to push you, but whatever happened with Mrs. Byers—"

"Later," she said softly, and it was then that he noticed how exhausted she looked. "Please?"

"Okay," he agreed, as he put her arm around his shoulders, and placed an arm around her to help her into the house.

Mrs. Wheeler had taken Holly to the pool, and they just caught Nancy as she was about to leave for the Byers's house. She dropped her purse and immediately ran over to help El into the bathroom upstairs. "What happened?" She asked, as Mike helped El up onto the edge of the sink.

Mike glanced at El, but he figured that if nothing else, she'd probably hear Jonathon's version of the story when she saw him anyway. "Well—"

"Mrs. Byers doesn't think I should go to the funeral," El spoke up.

Nancy kneeled down in front of her and began unwrapping the wound on her leg. "Why not?"

"She doesn't think it's safe. Too many people."

"Well you should still be able to go," Mike reasoned.

"El, this might sting a little bit," Nancy warned before continuing on. "I guess I could see her point. Whoever was after Hopper might still be in Hawkins, and it's probably best if they think Hopper didn't have any family."

El sharply took a breath in as Nancy cleaned the gash on her leg, and she reached for Mike's hand.

Nancy glanced at the pair as she re-wrapped El's leg. "Luckily the stitches didn't come out, but you should definitely rest." She stood up and began cleaning up. "I'm going to see Jonathon and Dad went with Mom and Holly to the pool."

"Since when does Dad go to the pool?" Mike asked, as he helped El down from the sink.

"I don't want to know," Nancy joked as she led the way out of the bathroom. "Don't get into too much trouble you two. I'll see you later."

"Thanks Nancy," Mike called to her as she went down the stairs. He helped El into his room, and onto the bed.

"Mike, I…"

He carefully sat on the edge of the bed, as to not hurt her leg. "It's okay if you're upset about what Mrs. Byers said."

"It is?"

"Well yeah," he said. "Anyone would be upset if they were in your position."

El didn't know how he always managed to to make her feel better. How did he always know what she was feeling; the right thing to say? "I still shouldn't go, should I?"

"I think Nancy made a good point," Mike said, somewhat reluctantly. While he didn't want El to have to handle a funeral, he also felt bad after explaining the whole thing, only for her not to be able to go. "And I'm sure Mrs. Byers was only thinking about your safety when she said whatever she said."

"I know," she said, glancing down at her lap.

"But hey, maybe we can do something else. We can do something special." He reached out to touch her hand. "Don't worry, El."

She looked up at him gratefully, but then glanced down at her lap again. "Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember earlier? When we were talking before breakfast?"

"Um…" Mike hesitated. He did actually remember exactly what they had been talking about before his mom came downstairs and interrupted. They hadn't gotten to continue their conversation, and Mike had hoped they'd keep it that way. "Yeah…why?"

"Do you lie?"

She had been asking him that more often than he would've liked. The phrase now made his stomach turn. "What do you mean?"

"You're keeping something from me," she told him. "I can tell."

Mike decided that looking at the wall behind El's head was better than making eye contact with her at this point. How was he going to explain himself? "Well I…I was just wondering…after everything that's happened…I mean—with the Mind Flayer and all this other stuff going on I didn't think it was the best time to bring up but I-I was just kind of wondering—I mean we never really officially said anything about it, even though we kissed last night which was fine and all, but I was just a little confused because I don't know if we're still together." He rambled on a lot whenever he was trying to express his feelings for El, but El was the only one who would let him ramble entirely before she answered. Mike finally looked at her, preparing himself for the worst.

El was looking at him intently, like she had in the grocery store the other night. "I like that you're my boyfriend."

It didn't exactly answer his question, but he decided to go with it. Girls were confusing enough without asking more questions. "Well, I-I like that you're my girlfriend. But I know I screwed up, and I know that I said a lot of stupid stuff in the past few days but it's just because I…" He trailed off, knowing exactly what he wanted to say, he just didn't know if now was the time to say it. "I…I care about you…a lot."

She gave him a soft smile. "I care about you too."

"So-so does that mean we can get back together? You're not mad at me anymore?"

"I think I should call Max first," she said, her expression turning serious.

Mike's face dropped, and he suddenly looked incredibly uneasy.

"Mike." She reached over and took his hand. "I'm joking."

"Oh. Oh right." He nodded, trying to play off his reaction. "Yeah, I knew that."

A weak smile spread across her face. "Right." She leaned in and kissed him a bit more deeply than she had the night before. El reached up to entangle her fingers in his long, dark hair—a force of habit whenever their kisses progressed past anything longer than a minute.

"Mike? Mike, this is Dustin, do you copy? Over." Came a staticky voice from the super com on his bedside table.

Mike pulled away and sighed frustratedly, causing El to laugh quietly. He reached over to his super com. "Yes Dustin, I copy. Over."

"Is El with you? Over."

Mike furrowed his brow in confusion, glancing at El, who suddenly had a look of concern. "Yeah, why?" He suddenly didn't care to add the "over" at the end of his answers.

"I was just checking," Dustin's voice came through after a moment's pause. "I wanted to make sure you guys were okay. Over."

His instinct was to roll his eyes, but he knew that Dustin was just trying to be a good friend, and he couldn't be upset at that. "We're good, Dustin. Thanks."

"Have you talked to Lucas? Over."

"No, why?"

"He said Max is super upset. She hasn't come out of her room all day. Over."

El quickly took the super com from Mike. "Is he over there with her?"

"He tried talking to her on the super com, but she turned it off. He wants to go over there, but he doesn't know how her parents will react to him. Over."

"Mike, I need to go see Max," she said, putting down the super com. Another thing that she was to blame for. Max was presumably and understandably upset about Billy's death. Not only had he been possessed by the Mind Flayer in order to kill her, but he had also ultimately sacrificed himself for her. Max had also been a good friend to her in the past few days, and she felt the need to return the favor.

"El, you heard Nancy, you need to rest right now."

"But Max needs someone right now. A friend." El didn't necessarily want to bring up the fact that she blamed herself for the situation Max was in right now. It wasn't that she wanted to comfort Max for selfish reasons, it was mostly because she knew that would bring about another conversation that she didn't feel like having. "Friends are important, right?"

"Guys? Guys are you still there? Over." Dustin sounded more frantic now.

Mike picked up the super com. "Yes, Dustin, we're still here. Over." He looked at El. "What if you tried calling Max? And then we'll bike over there tomorrow."

"I can walk there _today. _Mike, _please_."

He knew she was stubborn—it was something she must've picked up from Hopper, he figured. He loved that she cared so much for Max, but he was more concerned for El's well being. What use would she be to Max if she hurt herself trying to get over there? "If you hadn't hurt yourself this morning, I would say go for it."

El looked up at him, giving him the same look she used to give Hopper when trying to convince him to do several things he didn't like: staying up late and going to see Mike being the two main ones.

Mike stared back at her, willing himself to stay strong. They both knew that El's look made Mike practically melt, but this time he was determined.

"Please, Mike," she begged, in an attempt to further convince him. She didn't usually need to use this look on him—he was usually always on her side.

"You can call Max today," he said, continuing to hold her gaze. "And tomorrow I'll bike you over to her house. _Promise._"

"But—but…"

"Compromise, El, remember?" Mike said, standing up from the bed.

"What are you guys gonna do? Over," Dustin's voice came from the forgotten super com.

"Uhmmm, El can't really go anywhere right now, but she's gonna call Max. Over," Mike said.

"I would try calling Lucas after just so he doesn't lose his shit. Over."

"Thanks Dustin. Over and out." Before Dustin could say anymore, Mike shut off the super com. He looked at El. "I'll get you the phone from my parents bedroom, okay?" He turned and began walking towards the door.

"Mike."

He stopped and turned around to face her.

She gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."

…

"No…no…no! Billy!….Hop! Hop!" El bolted upright in bed, feeling her heart pound against her chest. Her powers may have been temporarily unavailable but that didn't mean she wasn't still subject to awful nightmares. She looked around, remembering that she was in Mike's room. She looked to her right and noticed that Mike wasn't there. "Mike? Mike!" El called frantically. _Where is he? Is he okay? Did something happen? _She cautiously got out of bed and walked out of Mike's room. She glanced up and down the hallway, only to find it empty. She quietly made her way towards the stairs, hearing voices floating up from the first floor.

"We let it slide the first night because of how upset she was," Mrs. Wheeler was saying. "But if she's going to be staying here, even temporarily, there need to be some boundaries in place."

El reached the landing of the staircase and kneeled down near the railing to listen to the Wheelers' conversation in the kitchen.

"What do you think we're going to do?" Mike snapped at her, and El could hear the frustration radiating from his voice.

"We don't know, Michael, and that's what we're trying to control," Mr. Wheeler said in his usual, slightly condescending tone.

"Well we're not going to do _anything!" _Mike shot back. He paused, and she could tell he was trying to keep his temper._ "_She's scared, and she just lost her dad."

"We understand that, Mike, which is why we're allowing her to stay here until other arrangements can be made," Mrs. Wheeler spoke up again, calmly. "But this is our house and you are thirteen. She can either stay in Nancy's room or—"

"She doesn't want to stay with Nancy." El could hear Mike trying to keep his voice even. "She needs me right now. And I'm not going to abandon her."

"No one is asking you to abandon her, Mike. If you'd like her to sleep in your room, that's completely fine. But if that's the case, then you can sleep in the basement on the couch," Mrs. Wheeler told him.

"That's such bull—"

"_Language, _Michael," Mr. Wheeler warned him.

"She has nightmares easily," Mike said, his voice softening. "She'll get scared if I'm not there."

"We'll deal with that when we get there…" Mrs. Wheeler's voice trailed off as El turned and quietly ran back up the stairs.

Back in the kitchen, despite being annoyed with his parents new rules, over their lecturing Mike could hear a door shut upstairs. "Mom," he said suddenly. "Can we please talk about this tomorrow?"

"Alright but this is the last night you two sleep in the same bed," she agreed.

Mike rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else as he turned and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

The bedroom door opened causing El to flinch and back herself against the wall. "No, no, no, no," she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. El drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them tightly. She wanted Mike, _needed _Mike. A hand brushing her hair out of her face made her flinch again.

"El, it's me." A lamp clicked on and the soft glow from it washed away the darkness of the bedroom. Mike was sitting in front of her on the bed, his brows furrowed in concern. "It's just me. Are you okay?"

"Nightmare," she mumbled, as the memories of it came flooding back to her. "I watched Hop…" El trailed off, unwilling to say the whole phrase. "And you were gone."

"I'm sorry El, my parents wanted to talk to me about…something. But I'm gonna get changed and then I'll come back and we can go back to bed okay?"

She nodded, but then said quietly, "I heard you talking to your parents."

Mike shook his head. "Don't worry about them, El. Even if I can't be with you, I _promise_ that nothing will happen to you."

"Okay," she said softly, looking down at her knees.

"Hey," he said, gently unlocking her hands from around her knees and pushing her knees down. "Everything is okay. You're here and you're safe. I'll be right back, okay?" He gently got off the bed and picked up his pajamas to change into, and then quickly went to the bathroom and returned. "Door open or shut?" He knew how she felt about small spaces, and he figured with the nightmare and hearing his parents trying to separate them was overwhelming.

"You'll stay?" she asked timidly. It was the most shy Mike had seen her since the first week they met, which worried him a bit, but he tried not to let it show. He knew El could read him like a book, and if showed he was worried, it would only make her more upset.

"Of course," he assured her.

"You can shut it," she said, as she repositioned herself to lie down in the bed.

Mike shut the door behind him and walked over to the bed. "Is it okay if I turn this off?"

El nodded wordlessly, glancing up at him.

He switched off the lamp and got into bed next to her. He watched as she moved so she was resting her head on his chest. It seemed to be her favorite position to be in lately.

"Mike," she began quietly. "How long do you grief for?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, as he reached up to stroke her hair.

"You said it's normal to grief."

"Yeah, grieve," he gently corrected her.

"Gr-Grieve," she repeated and then continued, "When do you stop?" She looked up at him with wide, innocent brown eyes and it hurt him so much.

She must've been feeling so many emotions that she didn't even understand, and all he wanted was to take them all away from her so that she didn't have to go through it. "I-I don't know, El. Everybody's different."

"Oh." She was silent for a few minutes and then buried her face into his chest.

It was an awful answer that he had to give. He knew it didn't help her at all. And he knew the question was stupid at this point, but he had to ask. "Are you okay?"

"Need sleep," El mumbled.

Mike wished he could see her better—he wanted to talk further, comfort her, make the problem go away. But he knew it was late, and he couldn't think of anything to say that would really make it better. "Goodnight El."

"Night Mike."

* * *

**A/N-I wish we got more Mileven scenes in season 3. I think we got "moments" but not actual scenes, you know? Like seeing them make out and then Mike comforting El was adorable but there weren't any actual scenes with depth, I guess? I hope we get more in season 4 (if there is one). **

**Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter! Remember reviews are much appreciated :) **


	4. Opening Up

**A/N- I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So I realized that I'm not really on any sort of schedule with uploading these and I hope you guys don't mind. I've been posting these chapters as I finish and edit them and such that I haven't really thought about figuring out any sort of schedule. So I'll let you guys know if anything happens with that, and until then...**

**Enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

"So you've reverted to letting Mike decide what you wear, I see."

El glanced down at her clothes, a light blush showing on her cheeks. It was true, she had been wearing Mike's old clothes a lot lately, for multiple reasons. Not only was it comforting to her, but she also didn't have the heart to go back to Hopper's cabin and collect more of her clothes yet. The outfit she was currently wearing, however, was out of Nancy's closet—with her permission this time—and her _and_ Mike's choosing. El had remembered what Max had told her while they were shopping, that it was important to wear things that _she _liked, but she always liked asking Mike's opinion for anything because even though she knew he'd always tell her she looked pretty, she just wanted to hear him say it. El looked up at her friend, a sheepish grin spreading across her face.

"I'm kidding El, it looks cute," Max said, laying a gentle hand on her knee.

The pair were sitting across from each other, cross legged on Max's bed. Mike had biked her here, promising to be back later to ride home with her after telling her he'd be back at Lucas's. It had been the first time since the Mind Flayer incident that she'd be without him, which left a small pit in her stomach. She didn't like that he was so far away, but took a deep breath and pushed herself anyway. Max needed a friend right now, and she was determined to help. "So… how—how have you been?" El asked cautiously. She'd never seen Max so upset as she was when she cried over Billy's dead body that night in the mall. So it was no surprise to her when Dustin radioed Mike to tell him that Max hadn't left her room since then.

Max looked down. "Did Lucas send you over here?"

El shook her head frantically. "No, no. I _wanted _to come."

"He's been trying to radio me on that _stupid _super com for the past two days," Max said, frustration evident in her voice. "Eventually, I just shut it off."

She furrowed her brows together in confusion, leaning closer to the redheaded girl. Why wouldn't she want to talk to Lucas? "But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why avoid Lucas?"

"I-I don't know…I just—I don't want to talk about anything. There's nothing to talk about." Max began playing with the comforter of her bed, and then as if catching herself, shook her head. "It's annoying."

"Max," El said softly, this time reaching to put a hand on Max's knee. "It's okay to be hurt."

"But he was such a shitty person!" Max seemed to explode finally. "And I was so shitty to him! It's _his _fault all of those people—Heather, her parents…are all…dead. Because of him."

"It wasn't him," El reminded her gently. "It was the Mind Flayer making him do it."

"And I'm still mad because where was he that he got flayed? Probably somewhere doing something he shouldn't be! He hurt you, and he hurt Mike. He hurt _so _many people." El could see tears at the corner's of Max's eyes. "He wanted to kill you," she said, her voice cracking.

"That was the Mind Flayer," El repeated. "Billy couldn't help it."

"He couldn't help it until the end…in the mall. He protected you," Max said. "Why couldn't he do that before it came to that?"

El shrugged helplessly. Another reminder that Billy's death was her fault. Max was hurting because so that she could live. "I-I don't…know."

Max didn't seem to need El's answer as she fell into her lap, similar to how she did after realizing Billy was gone.

It hurt El to see her friend like this. Max, who was always so tough—Mad Max, was so affected by this. El carefully began stroking her friend's hair, similar to how she remembered Mike doing to comfort her whenever she was upset. After allowing her to cry for a few minutes, she spoke up again."M-Max, I don't want to push you," El began, echoing Mike's words. "But you should…you should let Lucas talk to you."

Max sniffed, sitting upright again. She wiped her eyes furiously. "Why?"

"Because he…cares about you. He's your _friend." _When Max didn't respond she continued, _"_He wants to be there for you."

…

"Lucas, dude, _stop _pacing," Mike said, as he watched Lucas go back and forth in front of him.

"I _can't._ Because on top of everything else that's happening lately, Max won't talk to me," he said, continuing his motions.

Mike, Dustin and Will were all sitting in Lucas's bedroom, all called over in an attempt to distract Lucas from Max.

"You know how girls are," Mike said to him. "They need time to be emotional."

"Yeah, and I mean, she did just watch her brother die in front of her," Dustin pointed out. "It's some pretty heavy stuff."

"I-I've never had to comfort her before," Lucas said, his pacing not slowing. "She's never _been _emotional before. I don't know how to handle this!"

"Maybe Mike is right, she's probably just taking time to herself," Will said. "What's so wrong with that?"

"The only time she ever does that is when she _dumps _me!" Lucas shouted, finally stopping to look at his friends.

Mike raised an eyebrow at his friend. He'd previously thought that Lucas was the one who knew how to handle girls best, but the current situation was proving him wrong. "_That's _what you think she's gonna do? Dump you?"

Lucas began pacing again. "I don't—I don't know! The fact that she won't even talk to me is freaking me out!"

"El is over there talking to her right now, remember?" Mike reminded him. "She'll talk you up to her."

"Oh yeah, because Max and El together worked in our favor _so well _the last time!"

"What happened last time?" Dustin asked, looking at Mike.

"El dumped his ass," Will said, unable to hide the smirk on his face.

Dustin's eyes widened. "She _dumped _you?! El? Dumped you?!" He asked in serious disbelief. "You mean you two stopped sucking face long enough for her to decide to dump you?!"

Will finally let out a laugh, causing Mike to cringe at the memory.

"There was a lot of miscommunication in the last few days when it came to me and El, but everything's fine now. And El's your friend," Mike said.

"That didn't stop her from going along with Max before," Lucas pointed out.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Lucas, come on—"

He was interrupted by the phone ringing, causing all four boys to jump. Lucas ran out of the room and down the hallway to the kitchen. "Hello?" He answered frantically. His shoulders slumped slightly, his hopeful manner clearly deflating. "Yeah, hold on, El…Mike! It's for you!"

Mike walked over to the phone and took it from his friend. "El?"

"Mike?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, a look of worry washing over his face. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Max wants to see Lucas."

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. "Oh. Okay, well that's good right?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "But I think I should come home."

"Oh, oh right. Okay. Lucas and I will be there soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Mike listened for the other end of the line to click, signaling that she hung up before he hung up the phone in the Sinclair kitchen. He turned around to see Lucas waiting anxiously, Dustin and Will a few feet behind him.

"So, what'd she say?" Lucas asked, looking at Mike desperately.

"She said Max wants to see you," Mike told him, causing Lucas to look extremely relieved.

"Mike, your girlfriend is a miracle worker!" He shouted.

Mike grinned, shaking his head. "We don't even know what she did."

"All I know is that we gotta go. Meet up later? Your house?" Lucas said, as he ran to put his shoes on.

Mike, Dustin and Will all followed suit. "If you don't mind El being there, then yeah, sure," Mike agreed.

"Depending on how well this goes, I'll bring Max too," he said as the four of them walked outside to their respective bikes.

"Only if it's okay with Dustin and Will," Mike said, as they all got on their bikes.

"It's cool with me," Dustin said shrugging.

They all looked at Will, who looked back and forth between the three of them, until his gaze settled on Mike. "Yeah…Yeah, it's okay with me too."

…

Mike and Lucas rode over to Max's house, Mike to pick up El and Lucas to finally talk to his girlfriend. Once El was sure that Max was okay, she left with Mike, and they made it back to the Wheeler's. They walked into the house together only to be met with Mrs. Wheeler in the kitchen. "Hi kids!" She greeted happily.

"Hi Mom," Mike said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Is…everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, dinner will be ready in a little while," she said, nodding.

"Okay…well, we'll be downstairs then," Mike said, taking El's hand and leading her downstairs.

"Wait, Mike," Mrs. Wheeler said suddenly, stepping in front of him. "There's something we need to talk about."

"What's that?"

"Joyce called," she admitted, and Mike could feel El tense up beside him. "She said she originally wanted to take care of the funeral planning all herself, but she thinks having El's help would be best."

Mike looked at El, who was looking at Mrs. Wheeler. "Is that something you'd wanna do?" He asked.

El glanced at Mike, then the floor. "Y-Yeah, I could do that," she said softly.

"Just know that I think you're very strong, El," Mrs. Wheeler said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I'll let Mrs. Byers know that you'll help."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wheeler," El said, giving the older woman a small smile.

"Is it okay if Dustin, Will, Lucas and Max come over after dinner?" Mike asked, looking at his mother.

"Okay, but not too late, Mike."

"Thanks Mom," Mike said, finally leading the way towards the basement. Once they reached the basement, they sat on the couch together, El leaning so her head was resting on Mike's shoulder. "So how is Max?" he asked.

"Sad," she answered, staring at the coffee table in front of them. "Confused, I think."

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"She needs her friends," she responded. "Like Lucas."

"I'm glad you two are friends," he said, as he put his arm around her.

She turned her head to look up at him. "Really?"

"Well yeah," he said nodding. "You guys can help each other through stuff like this. Max was annoying when I first met her, but now that I actually know her, I think she's a good friend to have…even if I still find her annoying…sometimes."

El shook her head at him, leaning on his shoulder again.

"And…how—how are you?" Mike reached up and began gently stroking her hair.

"Me?" He could hear the slight confusion in her voice, but when he didn't respond she went on, "I'm okay."

"El, you know how friends don't lie?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Just like you don't like it when I keep things from you," he explained carefully. "I don't want you to feel like you have to keep things from me either."

"I don't," she said softly.

Mike pulled his arm away as he turned to face her.

El looked up at him with the same beautiful brown eyes he'd loved since they met. It was one thing he noticed never changed about her, no matter how much time had passed or whatever else happened—she always had those same eyes.

"I-I just don't want…I don't want you to feel like—like you can't talk to me about whatever, you know? And—and I know I said some stupid stuff before but I don't want that to change anything between us. I want you to be able to—to trust me. And I know we've been having trouble with this but I-I promise I _do _trust you, I trust you with everything, I swear."

"Mike," she said taking his hand. "I know you trust me."

"You—you do?"

"Yes. I trust you too," she said, holding his gaze intently. "I trust you more than anyone."

"And I'm _glad _that you do, El. I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you. I'll always listen."

She reached up to gently touch his cheek. "I know. I'll always be here, too."

Mike leaned towards her, gently kissing her.

El grinned into the kiss, and then pulled back. Mike's welt across his face had begun to heal more, as his freckles began to reappear on his cheek. She giggled.

"What's so funny?" He joked.

"Nothing," she said, a smile still present across her face. Mike loved the way it finally reached her eyes. "You're just so…" El trailed off, as if trying to think of a word to describe how she believed Mike looked. She ran her thumb across his cheek, where the wound had begun to heal. She realized that she didn't know, or at least, couldn't think of a word that she believed described what she thought about Mike. So she used the first word she could think of, one that she'd heard Max use when talking about a good looking boy in the magazines. "Hot," she finished, causing Mike's cheeks to turn red. Her smile grew bigger.

He grinned regardless, seeing her so happy for the first time in a few days was the best thing to him. "Where did you hear that from?"

"Max said it about…the Karate Kid?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "So some famous person," he clarified. "Typical Max."

"I like you better though," she told him, her smile becoming a little more shy.

He could feel his cheeks turning red again, but went on, "I-I like you too, El. Way more than any girl in a magazine."

"Really?" El questioned, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Y-Yeah. You're prettier than any of those girls. Really pretty." Mike's face grew even hotter, but he knew he wanted to say it anyway.

"How do you know?"

The question caught him by surprise. Of course he had a million things to say, but would any of it be something that would freak her out? Would it be too much? He'd already almost slipped up by shouting that he loved her and he _knew _that would've been too much. It didn't matter if that's how he truly felt, Mike didn't want to overwhelm her. "Be-Because you're—you're the prettiest girl I've, um, I've ever met." He swallowed hard. Maybe that was too much.

El stared at him intently for a minute and seemingly subconsciously reached up and tucked her curly hair behind her ear.

"It has nothing to do with your hair," Mike told her, suddenly finding his voice. "Or your what you wear."

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "It doesn't? But Max said—"

"Max was only talking about someone's looks, their physical appearance, or what they look like," Mike explained. "Your hair is pretty, and your clothes look cool, but what I'm saying…" He took a deep breath. "What I mean is, you're also pretty on the inside, as a person."

"On the inside?" El asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, your personality," he went on. "How you care for your friends, you put everyone else first. You're always there for your friends. You're understanding. It makes you—pretty,_ really, _really pretty."

It was El's turn to blush as she reached up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

Mike knew right then and there, that no matter what happened, they would be okay. _She _would be okay. It had been a glimpse of El, _his _El. The one who was happy and giggly, and still learning how to communicate that to everyone else.

* * *

**A/N-I will get better at endings one of these days I swear. Until then, they're gonna end up being a lil cheesy, sorry y'all. **

**As usual, reviews are always appreciated and keep me writing. :) **


	5. Nightmarish Reality

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So this chapter took me really, REALLY long to write, and again, it turned out longer than I expected but I needed to get something out before I go on vacation at the end of the week so here it is!**

* * *

"Nancy, can I talk to you?"

It was later on in the evening, after dinner and after the Party had come and gone. It had been a good night with his friends, and it felt like any other time he, Dustin, Lucas and Will would get together, even before Will disappeared—now El and Max were just added to the mix. They had hung out, watched movies and played games all evening. Everything had been going great, except towards the end of the night, when he noticed that El seemed a little bit more clingy. He wasn't complaining necessarily, he never minded when El needed that extra comfort. It didn't hit Mike until after the Party left, that tonight was the night he promised his parents he would start sleeping in the basement and El could sleep in his room.

"Uh, sure. Is everything okay?" Nancy asked, turning around in her desk chair to face him.

Mike walked further into her bedroom and closed the door. "Mom and Dad are making El and I sleep separately," he began.

"Okay, and?"

"I tried to explain that El is more likely to have nightmares if I'm not there, but they're not budging," he continued. "So, I'm sleeping in the basement on the couch. But could you _please _just, keep an eye on her? Make sure she's okay tonight?"

"Mike, she'll be fine. El has handled a lot worse things in her life than sleeping without you next to her," Nancy told him.

"I'm just worried about her, okay? She's still really closed off about everything that happened. I just don't want her to get upset or anything."

It suddenly dawned on Nancy how much her little brother cared for this girl. It'd become apparent in the last six months how attached and close they were as a couple, but everyone—including her—had seemingly written off the relationship as some childish, puppy love romance. She had seen how upset Mike had gotten when El disappeared a year ago, so she figured their constant need to see each other stemmed from that. But as she quickly reflected on the last few days, and remembering how despite the fact that Max claimed that El dumped Mike, he continued to be there for her any time she was hurt, or scared, and he protected her in any way he could. Even when herself and Max scolded Mike for not allowing El to be her own person, he proclaimed that he loved her and didn't want to lose her again. How could she have not seen it before? "I'll keep an eye on her, Mike. But she'll be fine." Nancy gave her little brother a reassuring smile.

"But just in case, okay?"

"Okay. Now get some sleep," she told him, turning back to face her desk.

Mike walked out of her room and down the hall to his own, where El was sitting cautiously on his bed. She was dressed in an old pair of Nancy's pajamas, which looked strange on her, but Mike thought she looked beautiful regardless.

She looked up when he walked into the room. "Mike."

He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "How are you…feeling?"

"About what?" She questioned.

"Are you okay with helping Mrs. Byers?"

"Yeah…" She nodded. "I-I guess so."

"Are you…still upset with her?" Mike asked, noticing her posture stiffen.

El shook her head. "No…I just feel bad. She was trying to protect me."

"I'm sure she's not upset with you," he said, taking her hand. "I think she just wants to help." Mike gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "It'll be okay."

A knock from the door caused them both to jump, and El gripped his hand tighter. They both turned to see Mrs. Wheeler poke her head into the room. "Hey you two, it's getting late."

"Okay Mom," Mike said, giving her a look.

"Remember our deal, Mike," she reminded him, not making a move to leave the room.

"_Okay _Mom."

Mrs. Wheeler left the room, closing the door behind her.

Mike knew this was coming, but he had hoped they had more time. He turned back to face his girlfriend, who looked back at him with wide brown eyes. "So…you remember what my parents said, right?"

She nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact with him. "I have to sleep alone."

He hated that, that was how she had interpreted things, but unfortunately that wasn't exactly a lie. "I'll be right downstairs okay? In the basement, on the couch. And Nancy is right down the hall." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You're safe here, I promise."

"Will you stay?" She asked, glancing down at her lap.

"Until you fall asleep," he said.

El moved to get under the covers, and leaned against the headboard.

"El." Mike tried to keep a grin from showing on his face. "You can't sleep that way."

"Yes I can," she insisted.

And although it took her a while, Mike managed to help her fall asleep eventually. He gently got her to lie down, and quietly grabbed his own pajamas and turned to look at El one last time. He really hoped that Nancy was right.

…

"No…no! Mike? Mike!" Came a scream from the other room. "Mike, no! No come back, please!"

Nancy shot up in bed, jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to her brother's room. She opened the door to see the young girl she'd come to grow rather protective of in the past few days, tossing and turning in bed.

"No! No! Bring him back, please!" She screamed. "Mike! Mike, come back!"

Nancy ran over to the bed to see tears streaming down El's face, as she kept turning back and forth in bed. She shook her shoulder. "El! El, wake up! Wake up!"

Mrs. Wheeler came into the room, turning on the light. "Nancy? What's wrong? What's happening?"

"No! Mike! Please come back!" El screamed.

"El's having a nightmare and she won't wake up," Nancy explained, over El's crying.

"El, sweetie, it's okay!" Mrs. Wheeler said a little more gently, trying to shake her shoulder. "Wake up, honey! Wake up!"

"Mike, we need to get Mike," Nancy said, looking at her mother. Without waiting for a response from her mother, Nancy ran out of the room, down the stairs and to the basement. She flipped on the light and flew down the stairs noisily.

Mike sat up sleepily, looking up at his sister. "Nancy, what the hell?"

"Mike, it's El—she needs you."

His eyes widened and he immediately jumped off the couch and followed his sister back upstairs to his room.

The Wheeler siblings ran into Mike's bedroom to see their mother still trying to wake El. "El, sweetie—"

"Mom, move!" Mike couldn't help the disrespectful tone in his voice. He didn't mean it, but he needed to help El.

"Mike! Mike, come back!" She screamed as he stood over her. Her entire body was shaking, and her face was turning red, likely from her panicking. "Mike, please!"

"El! El, I'm right here," he said, shaking her shoulder. "I'm here."

When she still wouldn't wake up, he sat on the bed and took her into his arms, pulling her into a tight embrace. "It's okay. You're okay," he said softly into her ear. "I'm right here."

"Mike," she said more softly now, returning the hug, as she woke up. She gripped him as if he was her lifeline. "There was—Hopper, he-he died again, and you were—you were gone."

Mike glanced over his shoulder at his sister and his mother.

Nancy took hold of her mother's arm. "Mom, maybe we should wait in the hall," she said, not waiting for her mother to respond in order to lead her out of the room.

"I couldn't protect you. You were gone," El cried. "Billy came back and I couldn't protect you!"

It broke Mike's heart to see her feeling so vulnerable without her powers. She'd always been so strong, even without her powers, in Mike's opinion. But he had no idea that she felt so vulnerable without them.

"It's my fault," she said, gripping the back of his shirt tighter. "All my fault."

He gently got her to release her grip on him so that he could pull away and look her in the eye. The steady stream of tears hadn't lightened up at all, and he could see where sweat had broken out across her forehead. "El, listen to me. None of what happened is your fault, do you understand? It's nobody's fault but those sons of bitches in the lab."

"But I opened it!" El tried to wipe away the tears before they fell but it was no use. "It's all my fault!"

"You didn't mean to," he assured her. "You didn't know what you were doing. You only did what they wanted you to. You didn't know any better."

"I can't protect you anymore," she said, her voice breaking. "What if it comes back? What if you die too?"

"El, it's gone. The monster is gone. Remember Dr. Owens?"

She nodded tearfully.

"He was there that night. He shut all of it down. All that military was there to make sure that none of this ever happens again." Mike held her face between his hands, gently wiping the tears as they came. "You don't need to protect me anymore. I'm right here, and I'm safe. You're safe now."

Her wide, glossy brown eyes were now puffy, and rimmed with red from her tears. "But Hop is gone," she cried. "I shouldn't have let him go."

"You and I both know that no one could've stopped him from going down there that night," Mike said. "Hop is stubborn, and nothing would've stopped him from protecting you."

El sniffled, and Mike could tell she was slowly calming down. "What is stubborn?"

"It means that once you're set on doing something, there's no convincing to do anything otherwise. Even if it means putting yourself at risk, you're still going to do it," he explained. Grinning slightly, he added, "Sounds like someone else I know."

A tearful grin flickered across her face, making Mike's chest flutter. He didn't even know he could feel like that, but he loved that it was her who made him feel that way. "You're right."

He pulled her to him in another tight hug, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck—as tight as she could without hurting him, anyway. "Everything's okay now," he soothed, rubbing her back. "You're safe, and I'm safe. All of our friends are safe." He glanced towards the door, suddenly remembering that his mom and sister were still waiting out in the hall. Mike gently pulled away from her, "El, I have to go—"

"Please don't leave me," she said, as fresh tears filled her eyes.

"No, no, no, I'm not leaving. I just need to go tell my mom and Nancy that you're okay and that they can go to bed. I'll be right back, I promise. I'm _not_ leaving you."

El nodded as Mike ran towards the door and slipped out into the hallway, careful not to close it fully behind him.

"Is El okay?" Nancy asked immediately, standing up from her position leaning against the wall near the door.

"She's okay," Mike confirmed. "But I think everything is just finally hitting her now."

"Everything?" Mrs. Wheeler questioned. "But wasn't it just her father—?"

"The fire was traumatizing, Mom," Nancy interrupted her. "For all of us, but especially El."

"Which is why I'm sleeping in my room tonight," Mike said firmly, looking at his mother. "I _promise _we're not doing anything except sleeping, Mom. I just want to be there for her."

Mrs. Wheeler sighed, seeming to consider this new information. Mike knew his mother was unfair a lot of the time, but he also knew that she had a heart, and was quickly developing a soft spot for his girlfriend. "Alright fine," she said finally. "But if we catch you doing anything—"

"We _won't,_" Mike said. "Thank you."

"Goodnight kids," Mrs. Wheeler said, looking at her two oldest children and then turning to walk back to her room. Once the bedroom door shut behind her, Mike turned back to Nancy.

"So you're sure she's okay?" Nancy asked worriedly.

"I'm sure," he said. "I think she just couldn't process it until now."

"Okay…well take care of her, Mike. And make sure you both get some sleep," Nancy said, before turning to walk back to her room as well. "Goodnight."

"Night Nancy," Mike said, as he slipped back into his room. El was still sitting on the bed, the lamp near the bed that Mrs. Wheeler turned on illuminating half of her face which looked exhausted—but Mike could tell that she was fighting the urge to sleep. "Open or closed?" He asked without hesitation.

"Closed," she said quietly as he obeyed and made his way over to the bed.

He carefully got under the covers with her, and then stretched over to turn the lamp off.

"Mike," El said softly, and before he could respond, she moved to bury her face in his chest. "Hop is…gone." He could feel his shirt becoming wet with her tears, but he didn't even mind at this point. It seemed that El was finally coming to terms with what happened that night at the mall. He hated that it had to happen all at once—all of the guilt and pain and realization to hit her at the same time.

Mike didn't know what to say, because as far as they knew, Hopper _was _gone, and there was nothing he could do or say to make that better. Mike wrapped his arm around her, stroking her hair gently. He simply let her cry it out, her whole body shaking with quiet sobs into his chest.

When they finally seemed to subside, he looked down to see her eyes drooping closed, but then opening seconds later, in her final attempts to fight sleep.

"Get some sleep," he whispered gently.

"N-No," she mumbled. "No—no more nightmares." She was terrified of having another nightmare that she'd rather not sleep at all. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes, she saw everyone she loved that night, either in danger or getting killed, and there was nothing she could do about it anymore.

"I'm right here," Mike reminded her. "If you have a nightmare, just remember that I'm right here. I won't let anything hurt you."

"You won't leave?" El mumbled again, as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I don't think you'd let me if I tried," he joked quietly, and then added, "But I wouldn't leave you regardless."

* * *

**A/N-I personally am a sucker for hurt/comfort stories with Mileven so I think that's why I write so many of those. I didn't mean for this to end up being the whole chapter but once I got rolling I couldn't stop, apparently? Ha. **

**Leave a review, if ya want! :) **


	6. Torn Between Lives

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So I've been thinking and I think that this story has only a few more chapters left after this one. This is due to multiple reasons, but the main one being I want to end this story before I go back to school because I definitely won't have the time or energy to dedicate to this story. (And I think you guys deserve the best sooo I want to give you guys a proper ending and such BUT you don't have to worry about that for a bit, I just wanted you all to know. **

**For now, enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

El's eyes fluttered open as sunlight poured into Mike's bedroom windows. Her eyes still felt heavy, most likely from her crying, but she felt better nonetheless. She was still lying with her head on Mike's chest and her arms around his waist and the soft sounds of him breathing reassured her that he was okay and still next to her. She looked up at Mike, who had been staring at the ceiling with his free hand behind his head.

He looked down at her and grinned. "Morning," he greeted.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"How're you feeling?"

She sat up, supporting herself on her elbow. "I still miss Hop," she said. "But I think I feel better."

"Really?"

"Yeah," El said nodding. "I do. It doesn't feel so…_heavy _anymore."

Mike sat up next to her. "It helps when you talk about it."

She glanced down at Mike's comforter, then back up at him. "I…I've never had anyone to talk with."

"You'll always have me," he said. "And the guys, and Max, and Nancy."

"I know," El said.

"So do you think you're ready to help Mrs. Byers?"

She nodded again, adding a weak smile.

"So you wouldn't mind if I went to the arcade with Dustin, Lucas and Will while you guys plan?" Mike asked skeptically. It wasn't that he _wanted _to leave her, but he knew in order to get things back to normal, they needed their time and space apart from each other.

"Sure, but um…" She trailed off, sitting up correctly.

"What is it, El?" he asked.

El glanced down at her lap, playing with the last button on Nancy's old pajama blouse. "After I help Mrs. Byers…do you think that…we could go to the cabin?"

Mike's eyes widened, but he quickly wiped the surprise off his face. "Uh…yeah, yeah, okay. If that's what you—what you want."

"I should get my stuff…right?" She looked up at him, as if wanting his approval which only confused Mike further.

But instead of questioning it any further—again, he'd only recently figured out how confusing girls could be—Mike nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They got dressed for the day, and after having a quick breakfast courtesy of Mrs. Wheeler, biked over to Will's house. Mrs. Byers let them in, and Will greeted them excitedly. "Mom, we'll be at the arcade okay?" he told her, as he and Mike rushed toward the front door.

"O-Okay, but be careful. And be back soon okay? No more disappearing for days on end," Mrs. Byers called after them.

"Okay, okay," Will said as he ran outside to get his bike.

Mike stopped in the doorway, looking back at El, who stood next to Mrs. Byers. "You'll be okay?" he asked, not caring if Mrs. Byers heard him.

El nodded, giving him a small, reassuring smile.

"We'll be back later," he told her, and then glanced at Mrs. Byers.

She nodded and walked into the kitchen, but El stayed in place.

He was about to turn and walk outside, but then stopped, turned around and in a few wide strides was right in front of her. He leaned down quickly and kissed her, catching her by surprise. They both would've continued for much longer but—

"Mike, come on!" Will shouted from outside.

Mike pulled back, blushing. "Sorry, I just—"

"Mike," she interrupted him. "It's okay."

"I'll see you later, okay?"

El nodded again, and watched as he turned and walked outside, closing the front door behind him.

…

"So how is El?"

Will and Mike were biking back towards town to pick up Lucas and Dustin before the headed to the arcade. They had been riding in silence for a while before Will spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, glancing over at him.

"I mean, how is she?" Will repeated. "She just lost her dad and fought a monster that specifically wanted to kill her, which is…I don't know, a lot."

"She's okay. I think it's just hard." Mike paused and then added, "Is your mom…I mean—was your mom…upset? After El kinda…?"

"Ran away?" Will finished for him.

"Yeah," Mike said, somewhat sheepishly. He knew that El already felt badly about getting upset and running out on Mrs. Byers, and although he figured Mrs. Byers wouldn't get _mad, _he still wanted to ask.

"I think she's just worried about her," Will said.

Mike was about to respond when he looked to his right and noticed they were passing the fenced in property that used to be Hawkins National Laboratory. The signs for the Department of Energy were still posted on the fences. Both boys suddenly stopped on the side of the road to stop and stare up at the building.

Even from this distance, Mike could see the building all boarded up with wooden panels and padlocks. It was Hopper's top priority six months ago to see to it that it was all locked up and shut down properly. Mike never admitted it to anyone, but even looking at the building gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.

Although he'd never suffered anything as horrible as Will and El, his experiences in the lab hadn't been all that great either. The mere thought of El growing up in that place almost made him physically sick. He shook his head, clearing his mind of those thoughts. The lab was abandoned. Shut down. The only things that remained of it were the memories of everything that had happened. Mike looked over at Will, who was staring at the building with a wide-eyed, glossed over look. "Hey," he said, causing Will to snap out of his own thoughts. "You okay?"

Will nodded, looking forward towards the road. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Let's go," Mike said, leading the way further down the road and away from the defunct laboratory.

…

"Do you think that's okay?" Mrs. Byers asked, looking at the young girl sitting across from her. She had been explaining to El all of the arrangements that she had been making for the funeral.

"I think so," she said, glancing down at all the table.

"Do you understand exactly what all of this means?" Mrs. Byers asked gently. "Did anyone explain it to you?"

"Mike said funerals are how people pay their respects to people who are gone."

Mrs. Byers nodded in affirmation. "Yes, that's right, but did he explain what that means exactly?"

El shrugged. "Kind of. He said that funerals are where people…_grieve _a lot."

"Grieve, that's right. And a lot of people will be at Hopper's. Even people who may not even like Hopper. Possibly Russians that weren't arrested that night at the mall."

El looked up at Mrs. Byers. "I know. I-I'm sorry I left before."

"It's okay, sweetie," Mrs. Byers said, sympathy oozing from her voice. "I know that you just miss your dad. And you deserve to be apart of this, but I think it'd be safest if you weren't there."

El couldn't help but allow the disappointment to show on her face. She knew Joyce was right, and had it been Hopper's decision, she could hear his argument about how she should stay home because she already exposed herself to Russian soldiers who may or may not have died and or escaped that night. She may not have liked it, but she couldn't deny that she knew that it was what Hopper would've wanted. "I understand."

"You know, I was thinking," Mrs. Byers began. "I don't…I don't know if Hopper was ever able to officially make any plans for what should happen to you if…anything happened to him, but I was wondering if you'd want to come live here with me and the boys?"

El wasn't sure what Mrs. Byers meant by 'officially make plans' but she tucked the thought away to ask Mike later. But the thought of living here with Joyce and Will and Jonathon. Joyce had been the first female figure in her life that showed her any kind of affection. She hadn't seen or talked to her too much since her return to Hawkins and revealing herself to Mike and their friends, but there was no reason not to trust her. Will had been a good friend to her in the six months she'd been getting to know the Party, and she hadn't interacted much with Jonathon until recently but even then he'd been trying to help her. "Is it—is it okay if I think about it?"

"Of course, sweetie. Of course you can." Mrs. Byers gave her a reassuring smile. "There's no rush."

El got up silently and walked around to the other side of the table. She walked up to Mrs. Byers, who turned to face her. El quickly hugged the older woman, similar to how she greeted her when she returned six months ago. It was a comforting feeling, one that she'd really only experienced with Mike, and then Hopper. "Thank you," she said.

Mrs. Byers returned the hug tightly. "You're welcome, sweetie."

The front door opened and footsteps could be heard coming into the house. "Mom? Mom, where are you?" Will's voice called.

They came apart from the hug as Mrs. Byers called out, "In the kitchen, honey!"

Will walked into the kitchen, followed by Mike, Dustin, Lucas and even Max. "Are you and El done?"

"Yeah, we're all done here," she said nodding.

"Okay, well we're gonna go back to Mike's house," Will told his mother.

"Sure thing, but remember to call when you're on your way back, or else I'm coming to pick you up," she said sternly.

"Okay Mom," he said, turning and leading the way back out of the house.

"Ready to go, El?" Mike asked, waiting for her in the doorway of the kitchen.

El nodded, and then looking at Mrs. Byers one last time she said, "Bye Mrs. Byers."

"Bye sweetie, I'll see you later."

El walked over to Mike who took her hand and together they followed the rest of the Party out to the front of the Byers's house. Once they were outside and mounting their respective bikes, El dared to ask, "I thought we were going to the cabin?"

"We are," Mike told her. "Will just didn't want to upset his mom."

El nodded. Mrs. Byers hadn't seemed that upset about Hopper's passing anymore, but she figured Will knew his mom better than she did.

"Hey El, want a ride?" Max called as she mounted her own bike.

"Yeah, sure," she said to Max, and then turning back to her boyfriend she leaned up to his ear and whispered, "I'll ride home with you okay?" She kissed his cheek quickly.

"Sure, El," Mike said grinning, his face turning red.

"Hey Wheeler, that's a really nice shade you're turning there," Max joked as Eleven climbed onto the back of her bike. "They almost match my sneakers!"

"Ha _ha, _very funny," Mike said shooting a defensive glare her way.

The boys laughed, and El gave him a small smile, which immediately made him feel better, even if he didn't show it.

The Party biked to the cabin, mostly exchanging jokes and such along the way. Mike appreciated how easily they fell back to the way things used to be. They had been through so much together as a group, and then fact that they could still talk about and do normal things was comforting to him. Despite the fact that he had told Will they were growing up—and they were—he liked it the best when they were all together. He directed them to the cabin, even stopping where the trip wire used to be by force of habit.

The old, now slightly dilapidated cabin almost looked normal. And if El didn't know any better, she'd think that Hopper was still waiting inside, and that everything could go back to normal. They all rode up to the steps of the cabin, and she jumped down from the back of Max's bike. The redheaded girl looked at El. "You okay?"

El glanced at her friend, and then stared back up at the cabin. "Yeah."

The Party walked up to the cabin, El leading the way up to the door. She pushed the front door which swung open almost too easily. The structure of the cabin itself had definitely taken a hit during the Mind Flayer's attack, but it still left her feeling unsettled. El stepped inside and took stock of the cabin. There was a huge hole in the ceiling where the Mind Flayer tried to grab her days earlier. Every cabinet was overturned, anything that they had previously put in front of windows around the cabin were thrown around the main room of the cabin. All the content of the different shelves and cabinets were strewn across the floor. The cabin itself was in ruins.

"Holy shit," came Dustin's quiet voice from behind her.

Lucas elbowed him, shooting him a look.

"Hey," Mike said, coming up behind El, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's head to your room, okay?"

El nodded, leading the way through the wreckage of the cabin towards the door to her room. She and Mike began sorting through her clothes and belongings to pack up, while the rest of the Party sifted through the mess in the living room.

El's bedroom was relatively untouched, except for the fact that they had put something over the window in an attempt to block the Mind Flayer's attack.

Mike walked up to her dresser, looking at the Polaroid picture framed on the edge of it. "I can't believe you still have this," he said, picking it up carefully. It was a picture of him from last Halloween when he, Dustin, Will, and Lucas went as the Ghostbusters. His mother had taken the picture—despite his protests—and one of the first times Mrs. Wheeler had met El, she'd shown the picture to her and had offered to let El keep it.

El walked up behind him. "I think it's cute," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"It's embarrassing," he said, actually cringing at the memory. "But you're lucky, because I'd rather you have it than anyone else."

She gave him a small smile, taking the Polaroid from his hand. "Thank you." She turned and walked over to her bed, sitting down.

Mike followed, sitting down next to her.

El looked around her bedroom, taking in all the details of the room for one last time. It had taken her so long to slowly build up her life in this room, drawings from Will and herself, posters from Mike, books from Hopper—it had slowly become a safe space for her. Now it was going to be taken away.

"It may not be the last time you see this place," Mike spoke up as if reading her mind. "We can always come back for more stuff later."

"I know," she said. "I'll just miss it." They sat in silence for a few minutes when she spoke up again, "Mike, do you think—"

"Hey guys," Will said as he appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. "We should probably get going before anyone comes looking around here."

"Okay, thanks Will," Mike told him.

Will nodded and gave the couple a small smile as he turned and walked back towards the living room.

"What were you gonna say?" Mike asked, looking back at El.

What she'd wanted to ask was what he thought about Mrs. Byers offer for her to live with their family. She was torn between needing Mike and knowing that not only would Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler wouldn't let her stay with Mike forever, but at the same time she knew that Mrs. Byers would be someone who would understand how she felt about Hopper. But now looking at Mike, she didn't feel like now was the right time to talk about it. Not with the rest of the Party in the other room. "Can we talk about it later? Please?"

He nodded, taking her hand as they stood up from the bed.

El took her messenger bag stuffed with her clothes and some belongings and slung it over her shoulder. She and Mike walked towards the bedroom door, taking one last look at the room.

"Don't think of it like an ending," Mike told her quietly. "Maybe something good will happen because of this."

El just really hoped he was right.

* * *

**A/N- The ending isn't what I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get this out for you guys. **

**Reviews are much appreciated! :) **


	7. Dealing with Feelings

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**First of all, I can't believe it's already been a month since the third season came out. It feels like we were waiting for forever and now it's already been out for a whole month! And now who knows how long we'll have to wait until a season 4! (If there is a season 4.) (But there better be a season 4.) Anyway, I'm thinking like three more chapters (give or take a few) for this story? (Not including this one) **

**ALSO: I recently discovered a Stranger Things podcast called The Upside Down Podcast! It's not _technically _an official Stranger Things podcast, but the two fans who run the podcast live in Georgia near where Stranger Things is filmed so they talk about their experiences seeing the sets/locations AND they even got to be extras in season 3! Soooo if you're looking for a little more Stranger Things content like I am you can check them out wherever you listen to podcasts (I'm pretty sure). I don't know them personally or anything, but I feel like I've found this little gem of a piece of Stranger Things and I wanted to share.**

**So other than that, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Mike, why aren't you dressed? Hopper's funeral is in a half an hour."

Mike was about to walk down the basement stairs, still dressed in a t-shirt and pajama pants when his mother stopped him. "I'm not going."

Mrs. Wheeler, who was already dressed for the funeral, put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean you're not going?"

"El is sick. She doesn't feel well and I'm not leaving her alone."

"She's probably overwhelmed, anyone would be." He knew his mother was _trying _to be sympathetic, yet firm, but he was hoping her soft side would win out, allowing him to stay with El instead of going to the funeral.

"Exactly, which is why I'm not making her go and I'm not going to let her stay here alone."

El could hear Mike fighting with Mrs. Wheeler upstairs in the kitchen beyond the basement door. They'd come down after an attempt at breakfast, but she didn't feel like eating much of anything—not even Eggos. She felt bad, and she didn't want to cause any trouble, but she appreciated the fact that Mike didn't want to leave her by herself.

"Michael, I think it's really important that you be there," Mr. Wheeler spoke up.

"El was the only one who wanted me to be there but she's not going. I want to be here for her."

There was silence, and El assumed the Wheeler parents were considering the decision. "Are you sure she doesn't want to go?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.

"Mom, this is kind of El's first funeral, and it's hitting really close to home. Is it so unbelievable that she's so overwhelmed?" Nancy spoke up, sounding a little frustrated herself. "Just let them stay here. We'll all go over to the Byers's afterwards."

"Alright, but I expect you two to be dressed to go to the Byers's afterwards," Mrs. Wheeler agreed finally.

"Thank you, we will," Mike promised. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Holly, and Nancy all left and Mike came back downstairs to the basement.

He stopped and stood on the other side of the coffee table. "Are you okay?"

El shrugged, looking up at him.

Mike walked around the table to sit next to her.

"I don't know how to feel," she said. "It's…"

"Weird?" He offered.

"What does _weird _mean?"

"It means unusual, or out of the ordinary. In this case, it just means something you're not used to," Mike explained.

"I've never felt like this before."

"Well, you really cared about Hopper. He was the first person to take care of you," Mike reasoned. "Losing someone you care about…especially like—like what happened…it makes sense that you hurt a lot."

El nodded, leaning against his shoulder. "I'm sorry I made you miss it."

Mike moved so he could put his arm around her and they both leaned back against the couch. "I'd rather be with you anyway."

She rested her head against his chest, looking down at their laps. "M-Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"I know I said I wasn't hungry before, but…"

"Well luckily for you, there is one thing that I know about _your _species," he said, getting up from the couch and helping her up.

El raised her eyebrow at him. "What's that?"

"That your specific species loves one thing." He took her hand and led her upstairs to the kitchen. He dropped her hand as he walked over to the freezer. He pulled out the frozen box of Eggos.

Before she even realized what she was doing, her eyes widened as she watched him pull out some waffles and drop them into the toaster.

"You're sure you weren't hungry before?" Mike joked.

El shook her head, but watched intently with wide eyes as the waffles came out of the toaster and Mike put them on a plate for her.

He walked over to the counter and slid the plate towards her.

She picked one up off the plate and bit into it hungrily. She hadn't realized how hungry she'd actually been until she'd seen the Eggos for herself. When she finished eating, she looked up at Mike who looked like he was trying to hide a smirk. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I'm just glad you're okay."

El blushed, looking down at the empty plate.

"Hey," he said, causing her to look up at him again. "It's okay, El. If you _weren't_ eating Eggos, I'd be worried."

A small smile spread across her face.

"Do you want some more?" The fact that she was smiling made his heart beat faster in his chest, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

She shook her head. "No thanks."

"So… I never got to ask. How did things go with Mrs. Byers the other day?" He'd been actually pretty curious, but he didn't know if she'd wanted to talk about it.

El shrugged. "She told me about the plans she made for Hop."

"Plans? You mean, like for the funeral?"

She nodded. "But they…" She looked down at the counter again. "They couldn't find him."

Mike wasn't sure how to respond. Would she get upset? She didn't seem _too _upset about it. "Couldn't find him?"

"Mrs. Byers said he was…gone," she said quietly, looking down.

"Gone," Mike repeated quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Well hey, let's go get dressed okay? You can help me tie my tie."

"I-I don't know how," she said.

"Neither do I really," he said shrugging. He walked around the counter and took her hand. "We can figure it out together."

…

Sitting in the Byers's house had never been so uncomfortable. While it had been awhile since the times of the winding map of the Upside Down tunnels spread over the walls and even longer since the dozens of Christmas lights that decorated the house, seeing the house so plain, and filled with so many people in dark clothes, all talking softly amongst themselves made the house suddenly seem stuffy to Mike. The atmosphere had never been so stiff and somber before. He'd been sitting with El earlier, but she'd gone off somewhere with Mrs. Byers. Mrs. Byers had wanted El to be here, mostly because it was at their house, somewhere private, and only people who knew Hopper (and Mrs. Byers) personally were invited. The Party came too, but Max left shortly after arriving, only wanting to check on El. Now the boys were all sitting in Will's room while all of their parents talked amongst themselves and with other people who came out of respect for Hopper.

"Mike?" Will's voice cut through his thoughts.

Mike snapped to attention. "Yeah?"

"Don't tell her I sent you, but I think El needs you," he said, sitting down next to Mike on the floor of his bedroom, a bowl of chips in his lap.

"Why do you say that?" Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

"She just looks…out of it, you know? She's in the kitchen," Will told him.

"Yeah, she's looking out the window like she lost something," Dustin added, earning him an elbow in the gut from Lucas. They were sitting across from Mike and Will on the floor. They'd escaped to Will's bedroom in an attempt to get more comfortable.

"Seriously man?! Not cool," he said, shaking his head.

Instead of responding to Dustin's comment, Mike said, "You guys don't think we're trying to isolate ourselves again, do you? I mean, El and I? I don't—we don't mean to, I'm just…worried about her."

"We get it, Mike," Lucas said. "I'd probably be with Max right now, if she wasn't out with her parents."

"Yeah, you gotta be there for her, man," Dustin agreed.

"Just remember that we're here too, for both of you," Will said. "Things will go back to normal soon."

"Yeah, I'll be back to making ten hour campaigns in no time," Mike joked, a grin spreading across his face.

The boys laughed, and Will spoke up, "We should do that again, soon. And we can teach Max and El how too."

"We will, but right now I need to go find El." Mike got up and walked towards the door to make his way to the kitchen. Flo and Mrs. Byers were talking with Callahan at the table, but stopped when they saw Mike walk in. El didn't even acknowledge his presence from her spot leaning near the window across from the table.

"Sorry," he apologized to the adults, making his way over to his girlfriend. She was wearing a simple black dress of Nancy's, a serious contrast from the style she had picked up as her own. He slipped his hand into her's, causing her to look up at him and allowing him to lead her out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the bedrooms. He stopped near the door of Will's bedroom, which was now closed. "You okay?"

El nodded. "Too many people."

"Do you wanna go home?"

She opened her mouth to respond when Mrs. Wheeler's voice interrupted him. "Oh there you two are!"

Mike turned to see his mother with Holly in tow. "I was talking to Joyce earlier and she said that El was thinking about coming to live with her and the boys."

Mike furrowed his brow, not daring to look at El. "Yeah?"

"Why didn't you two tell me? I think that's a wonderful idea," Mrs. Wheeler went on. "I know we'd talked about it before—once Nancy explained to me Joyce and the Chief's relationship, it makes more sense that you would—but I didn't think that you'd be so okay with moving so soon!"

El didn't looked surprised, as Mike thought she would, but more so scared. "I…I didn't…don't…" She seemed to be struggling for words, as if she knew what she wanted to say but couldn't find the words, or at least they wouldn't come out.

"Mom, could you…would you excuse us?" Mike didn't wait for an answer from his mother, taking El's hand and ducking into the bathroom up the hall. Once he shut the door behind them, he turned to her. "Are you—are you thinking about coming to live here?"

"Mike," she said softly. "I-I…" Her breaths seemed to be getting shorter, as she couldn't get any words out at all.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, taking her hand again. "I'm not upset, El. I'm just confused."

"She—she asked if I wanted to come live with her," she explained. "I said I needed to think."

As much as Mike wanted to be there for her as much as possible, he also knew that his parents wouldn't allow El to stay at their house forever. Honestly, Will's house was probably the next best solution, and it made sense for her to stay there. Mrs. Byers had always been there for El, anytime she let her, Mike knew. "Well…whatever you want to do, I…I support you."

"You do?"

He'd remembered hearing Nancy tell one of her friends before that it was something she'd wanted to hear from boys—and it wasn't a lie. He _did _support her. "I just…I want you to be happy. You deserve it."

She smiled softly up at him. "Thank you, Mike."

"So are you going to be okay?"

El nodded. "But I think I want to go back to your house."

"Let's go find my mom again." He led the way out of the bathroom and wove through the adults to find his mother and ask to go home. She agreed, saying that Holly needed to nap soon anyway, and everyone said their goodbyes.

Once they got home and changed into more comfortable clothes, El sat on Mike's bed, playing with her hands. "Mike?"

"Yeah?" He responded, sitting down next to her.

"I was going to tell you," she began. "About what Mrs. Byers said."

"I know, El. It's okay."

She put a hand on his knee, leaning closer to him. "I don't want you to think I lie."

"I don't. Like I said, I was just a little confused. Also that my mom was telling me before anybody," Mike told her. "Usually my mom is the last to know anything," he added as a joke.

El nodded, adding a small smile. "Even if I do live with Will's family," she said. "Nothing will change?"

Mike contemplated his answer for a minute. Nothing would change in his eyes. If anything, El would technically live closer to him than she did before. He knew that Jonathon and Will would look out for her, and that Mrs. Byers cared about her. It didn't sound like a bad idea at all. "Nothing will change with us," he said, deciding to play it safe. "No matter what happens."

* * *

**A/N- *sigh* little do they know... **

**Also, I did not write an actual funeral scene because a) I could never bring myself to because I love Hopper and El and that would hurt me a little too much and b) I do actually feel like it might've been a thing that El didn't necessarily attend/they might've just held some sort of gathering because his body was never found so you can't exactly have a funeral but because we're talking theoretically and about a TV show, this is what I came up with, haha. **

**Reviews are very much appreciated, as they do inspire me to keep writing :) **

**AND thank you to everyone who has been consistently reviewing each chapter, or anyone who has ever reviewed at all! I've received so much positive feedback for this story that I was completely not expecting and I am so, so appreciative of it :') so thank you all! **


	8. Moving In with the Byers

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**This chapter is definitely a little slow, and kind of a filler (sorta kinda), and it's also a little shorter than previous chapters, but I really wanted to get this out to you guys! I hope you enjoy! **

* * *

The next few days seemed to go by a lot more quickly than either El or Mike would've liked. With Mike's support, El agreed to move in with the Byers's, as Will and Jonathon agreed to share a room. Mrs. Byers took El, Mike and the rest of the Party, including Jonathon and Nancy to the cabin to properly pack everything up. Once they had gone through everything, they began moving El into her room in the Byers's house.

"Hey guys," Jonathon said, poking his head into the bedroom where the Party was helping El unpack her belongings. "I need some help bringing some stuff out to the garbage."

"Sounds like a job for you, Don Juan," Max said, patting Lucas's shoulder.

"We'll _all _go," Will said. "Come on guys."

The boys all followed Will as he led the way out of the room and down the hall.

"I should probably go supervise, otherwise Dustin and Lucas will try to see whose muscles are bigger," Max said, walking after them.

El giggled at her friends, watching them leave her new bedroom. As soon as Mike was the last to leave, Mrs. Byers appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She folded her arms over her chest. "Hey sweetie, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah," she said, sitting on her bed. "What is it?"

"I just want to make sure that you're settling in okay. I know all this moving might be a lot."

El nodded. "I'm okay."

"However you're feeling, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"I know. Thank you."

Mrs. Byers walked over to the bed and sat down cautiously next to El. "You really are a very brave girl," she told the younger girl. "I know the past week has been really tough, but I think you've handled it pretty well."

"I-I miss him," El said, looking down at the blue hair tie on her wrist. She ran her fingers over it. "But he'd want me to be happy."

Mrs. Byers placed a gentle hand on El's knee. "He would. I know it." When El only gave her a small smile in response, she went on, "I know this isn't Hop's cabin, but I hope you'll make it a home."

* * *

Eventually, Nancy took Mike and the rest of the Party home—only after Mike made sure El was okay and properly said goodbye. As much as they both felt that El living with the Byers's was for the best, El still hated to watch Mike go. She'd been staying so close to him ever since that night in the mall, and it wasn't that she _needed _him to be okay, it was to make sure that _he _was okay. Being without her powers meant that she couldn't protect him or their friends if they were in trouble, so the only solution was to make sure Mike never got into any trouble.

Mike didn't want to leave El because he didn't want her to have nightmares. But he knew another part of getting everything back to normal was once again to allow them both to have space. It didn't help however, that his parents decided that ever since the supposed "fire" at Starcourt, they began to be incredibly nosey into their children's lives.

It had been a relatively quiet dinner, mostly the clinks of the dinnerware were the only sounds that filled the Wheeler dining room. "So did El get settled at the Byers house?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, looking at Mike.

"Yeah, I think so," he said, pushing his food around with his fork.

"I didn't know Joyce's house was big enough for three kids," Mr. Wheeler said around a mouth full of food.

"Jonathon and Will are sharing a room so El can have her own," Nancy spoke up.

"Oh how nice," Mrs. Wheeler said smiling. "I think the boys are being very mature about this."

"About what?" Mike asked, looking up at his mother.

"Just like this is a big transition for El, this must be big for Will and Jonathon," she said. "They've never had anybody to share a house with except their mother. And now they have a new sibling and another girl to share the house with."

"I don't think it's really that big of a deal to them," Mike said.

"I mean, I think they're both glad to have El. And they're really close so sharing a room makes sense," Nancy added.

"I know it must be difficult for you too, Mike," Mrs. Wheeler said, turning the conversation back to her son. "I know how much you care about El and her wellbeing."

"Yeah, well…." Mike trailed off, shrugging.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" His mother pressed further. "You haven't eaten much of your dinner."

"I'm fine, Mom." Mike finally put down his fork, looking up at his parents. "Can I be excused?"

"You should really eat some of this dinner, son," Mr. Wheeler spoke up again. "Your mother worked very hard to put it together."

"I'm _not _hungry," Mike snapped. "So can I just _please _be excused?" He paused momentarily, but when neither of his parents said anything to respond, Mike pushed away from the table and stormed out of the room.

"Michael!" Mrs. Wheeler called after him.

Mike made it all the way upstairs until a hand grabbed his arm.

"Mike, wait." It was Nancy. "What's going on with you?"

He pulled his arm out of her grip. "It's nothing, Nancy. Just let me go."

"Obviously it's something for you to be acting like this," she shot back at him. "I'm not Mom and Dad. We tell each other everything, remember?"

"I'm just tired of them treating El like she's a burden. She's _not _a burden. Mrs. Byers asked her to go and live with them. It's not like she just decided that she was going to live with them one day. And ever since the fourth of July they just suddenly decided they want to hear about everything going on in our lives and its _annoying._"

"Mike come on, you know how they are. They don't mean anything by it. And you know you can't let them get to you like this," Nancy told her younger brother. "Are you really not that hungry?"

Mike shook his head. "I just don't feel like eating right now."

"Okay, well…just because El isn't here anymore doesn't mean you get to stop eating." Nancy gently shoved him.

He narrowed his eyes. "It's not because of—"

Nancy gave him a look, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'll be fine, Nancy. I promise. Can I go to my room now? Please?"

"Fine. Do you want me to put some Eggos in my pockets for later?" She joked as she walked back down the stairs.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

…

"Hey El?"

El turned towards the door of her new bedroom. She'd been sitting on the edge of her bed facing the window, with her back to the door. It hadn't been on purpose, but lately she'd found watching life outside the window far more interesting than anything else. "Yeah?"

It was Will, standing awkwardly in the doorway, seemingly afraid to step into what used to be his old bedroom. "My mom wanted me to let you know that dinner is ready."

"Oh. Thanks." She gave him a small smile to try to reassure him that she was okay. "I'm not really hungry."

"Okay." Will turned, seemingly about to walk back to the kitchen, but then stopped and turned to face her again. "El?"

She looked back at him again. "Yeah?"

"I know I'm not Mike…and I know that this isn't exactly the same as Hopper's cabin, but I'll always be here to talk…too."

El turned and swung her legs over to the other side of the bed, facing the doorway. Her smile grew a little at the mention of Mike. "Thank you, Will."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat? We're having breakfast for dinner." When she didn't seem interested, he added, "Mike told me you really like Eggos?"

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but she nodded.

"I've never really had any before. Do you think I should try some?"

El nodded again, standing up from the bed and walking over to the door to follow Will back to the kitchen. _Maybe this really wouldn't be so bad after all. _

…

El bolted upright in bed, not immediately recognizing her surroundings as she surveyed the room. It wasn't _her _bedroom, and it wasn't Mike's bedroom. Before even attempting to slow her breathing, she turned and grabbed her supercom that she made sure to leave on her bedside table. "Mike?" She breathed into the walkie. "Mike, are you there?"

"El?" The tiredness of his voice came through the static of the supercom and immediately she felt awful for waking him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I-I had a nightmare," she said, feeling the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I wish I was still with you," El said, as the tears began falling down her cheeks.

Mike remembered her saying it before the 4th of July. It broke his heart to hear her say it now, her voice shaking. "I know," he said, wishing with everything in him that he could just bike over to the Byers's house and comfort her. But he knew that wouldn't help her in the long run. "But I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? We're all gonna go with Dustin to see if he can actually contact Suzie again."

"Okay," she said, her voice breaking slightly. She was trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't exactly working.

"Everything will be okay," he assured her. "I'm right here, okay? I'll stay up with you until you fall back asleep." When she didn't respond, Mike went on, "Did I ever tell you about the time a girl tried to talk to Lucas and he literally _ran _away?"

There was a small pause on the other end of the walkie, and then, "He did? Really?"

Mike grinned, he could hear her voice a little clearer now, and it sounded as if the fear in her voice was ebbing away. So he launched into the story of the time when they were younger and a girl had approached Lucas, seemingly with the intention of expressing her deeper feelings for him. Lucas, who at the time was a lot more awkward around girls, had a difficult time responding to the ambush and quite literally turned and sprinted in the opposite direction. By the end of the story, Mike could hear El giggling quietly through the supercom.

"I can't believe he did that," she said, as her laughter subsided.

"He'd kill me if he knew I told you, but it's totally true. Dustin and Will saw it too," Mike told her.

"I won't tell," El promised quietly. Mike could hear her yawn through the static of the supercom.

"Get some sleep, El. I'll leave my supercom on and I'll see you first thing tomorrow."

"Tell me another story," her voice came immediately following his promise. "Please, Mike?"

Even though he knew they both needed to get some sleep, but hearing her plead with him practically made him melt. "One more story," he agreed.

"Thank you," she said, as she curled up into bed, holding her supercom close to her. Mike's low, quiet voice as he went into another story about his childhood with Lucas, Dustin and Will soothed the previous fear from her nightmare. It was almost as if he was there with her, and that was good enough for El. She closed her eyes contentedly, trying to follow Mike's story, but could feel herself drifting in and out of sleep.

Every so often Mike would pause throughout his story, as if to check and see if El would speak up. At first he would get mumbled responses, but as he went on, she would answer less and less, until finally he figured she was asleep. "Goodnight El," he said quietly, placing the supercom back on his bedside table.

"Night Mike."

* * *

**A/N-I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I feel like the last few chapters haven't really been "interesting" but I guess I'm writing this story on a more day to day basis more than action packed, and that's mostly because I imagine the 3 months between The Battle of Starcourt and the Byers moving was them attempting to get back to normal, ya know? **

**Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for reading! **


	9. Adjusting

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS!**

**Hey guys!**

**Expect a lot of updates in the next few days because I wanna get this story out by the time I go back to school. **

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Mike, do you copy? Mike. Do you copy? _Mike!_ Do you—"

Mike ran into his bedroom, grabbing his supercom off the bedside table. "Lucas, yes, I copy! What's going on?"

It was early in the morning, but Mike had made sure to get up early and on time. The plan was to meet up at Dustin's house to bike to the hill where Cerebro was situated. Mike had told Will that he and Lucas would bike out to the Byers house to pick them up, mostly so that Mike and El could ride together.

"Max's supercom is off," Lucas responded, sounding frantic. "And I tried calling her house but no one answered."

"Maybe she's still sleeping, it is kind of early."

"But she _should have _answered! She has a phone in her bedroom," Lucas reminded him.

"Maybe her parents got mad and took it away?" Mike suggested.

"No way, they're not _that _unfair. Plus, Max would never let them. I'm worried, Mike. What if something's wrong?"

Mike also thought it sounded kind of odd. Even if her parents _were _asleep, shouldn't someone have heard the phone ringing? It's not like they knew it was Lucas and were ignoring him. So why wasn't anyone answering? "Lucas, maybe she just overslept. Don't worry before you know there's a problem."

"I need to go over there and check on her. Now." Lucas no longer sounded frantic, he was down right worried.

Mike had to admit that he would've felt the same way if it were El who was radio silent. "Okay, I'll radio El and Will and tell them we're coming to get them now. Then we'll stop at Max's on the way back towards towards Dustin's. We'll figure this out, Lucas."

"Okay, I'll be out front waiting. Over and out."

Mike switched to the channel he knew El's supercom was set at. "El? El, are you there?"

"Mike?" came her voice almost immediately. She sounded sleepy, but her response was pretty quick.

"Are you and Will up?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked, sounding confused.

"Lucas and I are coming to get you now," Mike said, walking out of his room and down the stairs, supercom in hand. "Max isn't answering her supercom or the phone, and Lucas is worried, so we need to go check on her."

"I want to come too," El said firmly.

"I knew you would, that's why I told Lucas we should get you first." Mike walked through the kitchen and out to the garage to get his bike. "We'll be there soon okay? Let Will know."

"Okay. But Mike?"

He stopped walking his bike towards the door of the garage. "Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"I will."

Mike strapped his supercom to the handlebars of his bike and rode next door to Lucas's where he was waiting in his driveway like he promised. The boys rode mostly in silence, both silently worrying to themselves. Mike didn't know what Lucas was thinking, but Mike was _trying _to keep himself from thinking the worst. _Flayed Billy somehow came back and attacked his family. Or did Billy himself just show up and blow their entire fire at the mall story? What if Max was just back to ignoring Lucas again? _He figured that El would be their most promising solution to get inside—possibly if her powers had recharged by now, or even if she could just convince Max to open the door if she really was upset.

"I told Dustin what was going on. He said he'd meet up with us on the way to Will's," Lucas spoke up finally.

Mike nodded silently in response, and sure enough, Dustin rode right up to them as they passed his driveway.

"Still nothing from Max?" He asked, looking back and forth between his two friends.

"Nothing," Lucas confirmed.

They finally reached the Byers house where Will and El were waiting out front, Will already on his bike and El waiting beside him. She climbed onto the back of Mike's bike and the group followed Lucas back down the road towards Max's house.

"Try Max on the super com again," Mike spoke up after riding in silence for a while.

"It was turned off earlier," Lucas reminded him.

"So try again and see if she's turned it on," Mike said, feeling El's grip on his jacket tighten. "If something's changed and we all just show up it'll seem like an ambush."

Lucas switched on his super com, which was strapped to the handlebars of his bike. "Max, do you copy?" There wasn't even any static feedback, but he tried again. "_Max! _Do you copy?"

"We're almost there right?" Mike asked when there was still no response.

"Yes," El responded for Lucas.

The group rode on silently until they came upon the street on which Max's house was. El recognized the familiar street from what felt like a lifetime ago, when she and Max biked around trying to figure out what Billy was up to. The thought gave her a sick feeling in her stomach, and she just hoped that Max was okay. El also took the moment to realize that this was the first time in a long time that it was just her and the boys. It hadn't been this way since she'd first met Mike, Lucas and Dustin, back when Will was still missing. It wasn't as if she _didn't _like having Max around, but it was something that crossed her mind all the same.

The group rode their bikes up to Max's house, carefully dropping them a few feet away from the front steps. Lucas walked up to the door first, gently knocking, while the rest of the group stood behind him. After waiting for a while with no response, Lucas turned to El.

"Do you…do you think your powers are recharged yet?" He asked timidly. El could see the desperation in his eyes.

Mike turned to her. "Do you think you can do it?"

Looking up at Mike she said, "I-I can try."

"Be careful," he said, as he and Lucas stepped away from the door.

The boys retreated behind her, unsure of how her powers may react after being unused for so long.

El focused on the door, and then the lock, picturing exactly what she wanted it to do in her head. Once again, she had to call back to mind Papa's training, his calm, even tone of voice sending shivers down her spine. She narrowed her gaze on the lock, as she felt her mind straining to do as she wanted it. Still, she came up with nothing. She let out her breath with a sigh, trying to catch her breath. Her head was pounding, and she could feel it turning into a headache. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"It's okay, El," Mike said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You did the best you could."

"Yeah, it's okay," Lucas said, sounding defeated. "You tried." He looked around the front of the house and then made his way towards the side. He stopped in front of a low window, and kneeled down to pick up a rock. He gently tossed it at the window. "Max!" He tossed another rock at the window, a little harder this time. "Hey Max!"

The window flew open, the familiar sight of Max's red hair appearing. "What do you want, stalker?" She asked, leaning out the window.

"I've been trying to get ahold of you all day," he said, stepping closer to the window. "Your super com is off and you weren't answering the phone. We were supposed to go with Dustin to call Suzie remem—"

"I don't feel like it today," Max cut him off. "I feel kind of sick. I'm sorry about the super com. I'll call you later, okay?" She moved to shut the window.

"Max," El said, stepping forward from around the corner of the house where she and the rest of the boys were waiting.

Both Max and Lucas's heads turned to look at the girl.

"_Don't _push us away. We care about you." El looked back at Mike, Dustin and Will. Her gaze stopped on Mike, her eyes locking with his confused gaze before looking back up at Max. "You—you say _boy_friends lie, but they don't. Lucas cares about you." After a minute she added, "He wants to help."

"El, I…" Max glanced down at the ground, and then back up at her friend. "You guys…all came out here? For me?"

El nodded as Mike, Dustin and Will all came out further from around the corner.

"We all wanted to make sure you were okay," Lucas explained.

Max glanced at him, and then back at El. "My mom and stepdad have been super upset lately okay? I have to stay home with them. I'll meet up with you guys later. I'm sorry." Without waiting for a response, Max leaned back and shut the window, taking one last look at Lucas and pulling the curtains shut.

Lucas's shoulders slumped in defeat as he turned and trudged back towards the front of the house.

"She'll open up soon," El told him. "When she's ready."

Lucas picked up his bike and got on. "What if she's never ready?"

The others copied his motions, El gripping the back of Mike's jacket as she climbed onto the back of his bike. "She trusts you Lucas. She's just scared," she told him.

"I hope you're right, El," Lucas said, pushing off on his bike.

"Are you sure you don't want to make sure she's okay?" Mike asked looking back at her, as the other boys began riding in the direction of the hill.

"No, she needs to be alone," she said, glancing back at Max's house. "I'll call her later."

Mike caught up with the others and they managed to make it to the hill, and climb all the way up to the top. Dustin was fiddling with Cerebro, while Lucas tried to help him but they only ended up arguing. Will was attempting to be the mediator but wasn't having much luck. Off to the side Mike and El were sitting next to each other, looking out over the view that the hill offered of the town.

"I've never been up so high before," El said, glancing at Mike.

"Honestly I don't know how Dustin found this place," Mike said, glancing back at his friends. Will had given up trying to mediate the argument and was now watching Lucas and Dustin go back and forth, occasionally interjecting his own opinion.

"It's…pretty," she said, taking in the whole landscape of the town.

Both of their gazes fell onto the center of the view, where the ruins of what was left of the Starcourt Mall was located. Instead of emitting its usual neon glow, it was dark, even in the early sunlight of the morning. They both shook themselves of the thoughts that had seemingly simultaneously filled their heads from that fateful night.

Mike turned and saw El still in awe of the wide view despite the eyesore that was the mall. She looked so innocent right in this moment, her soft brown curls gently blowing away from her face in the breeze. Her wide, beautiful brown eyes soaking up every last angle and detail. He was filled with this overwhelming, yet familiar feeling… "Hey El?"

"Yeah?" She turned to look at him, and suddenly Mike could feel all of her attention shift to him.

This was good of a time as any to say it, he could feel it. The rest of the Party were preoccupied, so they wouldn't interrupt. But what if she didn't say it back? What if she didn't feel the same? The words were too heavy, too much weight to them. "I-I…"

She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, yet still giving him an encouraging look.

"I-I wanted to know how you're feeling…since trying to use your powers."

"Just have a headache."

Mike furrowed his brow in concern. "Are you okay? Is it bad?"

"No." El shook her head. "Just a little draining. But I'm okay, promise."

He nodded as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," she said quietly.

He looked down at her. "Me too."

"Hey lovebirds! Are you gonna come meet Dusty-bun's Suzie-poo or what?" Lucas called, as Will laughed and Dustin glared at him.

"We could just ignore them," Mike said quietly to her. He knew it sounded selfish, but he couldn't help it. For some reason he had the overwhelming urge to keep her to himself. "Stay here for a little while longer."

"I kind of want to meet Suzie," El said, sitting up. "Lucas and Max say she sings with Dustin."

"Sings?! Oh I've _got _to meet the girl who can get Dustin to sing!" Mike stood up and offered her a hand to help her up. "Dustin, I need to hear this song everyone's talking about," he said as they made their way over.

"Damnit Lucas, why'd you tell him?!" Dustin snapped, as he continued to switch around the frequencies on Cerebro.

"Who said I told him?! Anyone with a radio in Hawkins could probably hear you!" Lucas shot back at him.

"You did say this was the Cadillac of Ham radios," Will pointed out. "It was also pretty hard to ignore you two."

El giggled at the boys. "Only if you're comfortable, Dustin."

"Well I'm _not. _Thank you, El."

"Come on, if you can sing it over Cerebro for anyone to hear, you can sing it for us," Mike pleaded jokingly.

Lucas gave him an overdramatic version of puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Dusty-bun?"

"Screw you, Sinclair."

* * *

**A/N-I wrote the scene with Mike and El on the hill while listening to "The First I Love You" score from ST3. :) **

**Also, I don't mean to sound... I don't know... like... needy or anything I guess? But please remember to review! If I don't get any reviews I get a little discouraged, as I assume people have stopped reading, and then I don't necessarily have a lot of motivation to write. You guys have been so SWEET and AMAZING with the reviews and I am super appreciative. Even if you don't review every chapter, I promise I read every review and appreciate them greatly. So thank you. :) **


	10. Getting the News

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So I can't decide if there will be one or two more chapters. It depends on how much time I have in the next two days. However, I am thinking that the next chapter will most likely be the last-but that could change! And I'll let you all know for sure soon. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

And as time went on, everyone began adjusting to the new normal that had settled over Hawkins. El was having an easier time sleeping at night, although she usually had one or two nightmares a week. Other than that, she had actually begun to enjoy living with the Byers family. Will would always let her watch him draw if she wanted company, but didn't want to talk, and he even tried teaching her how to draw a few things when she was feeling up to it. Jonathan was more of a silent, protective brother to El. He would give her the space he felt she needed, but he always made her laugh while she watched him cook and she liked the music she heard playing from his and Will's room.

Everyone else was simply learning to move on from the fateful events of that 4th of July. Their wounds had—physically—healed and everyone was focused on trying to move forward. Although Mike missed seeing El so much, and El still preferred keeping a protective eye on Mike, they were able to find a balance between hanging out with the rest of the Party and with each other.

Both El and Lucas continued to gently encourage Max to open up, if not to themselves than to the other, but after that day at her house, Max had promised that things were going back to normal. Lucas seemed to back off a bit, but El could tell he was still worried.

Mike had begun to feel like things returned to normal—or at least, their _new _normal: the one without Hopper and Billy, without spending the hot, Indiana summer days in the mall, and avoiding the pool and especially the sauna at all costs. All of these were things the Party, their siblings and friends silently agreed never to talk about, but Mike knew that it was only because no one wanted anyone to feel uncomfortable.

Regardless of all of that, however, the Party had mostly resumed their regular summer plans. Mike was currently trying to distract himself with a comic book as he waited for El to call him. They had planned to stay in and watch movies for the day—neither feeling up to any kind of "adventure" lately. He'd almost become completely consumed by the comic when his super com lying next to him came to life, the sudden burst of static causing him to jump.

"Mike?" El's voice came through the static of the old super com. "Are you there?"

He picked it up, putting his comic down. "I'm here, El. Is everything okay?"

There was a pause and then her voice came through. "Can you come over?"

"Uh…yeah. I'll bike over in a few okay?"

"Okay," she responded.

He couldn't decide if her short answers were more confusing or concerning, but instead of pressing further, he simply took his super com and ran downstairs to the garage. As he biked to the Byers house, the only sound that he was aware of was his heart pounding in his ears. Normally he'd be excited, more than happy to spend a day with El. He _was _still happy to be going to spend time with her. But something in her voice didn't sit well with him. As he got closer to the house, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind, determined to enjoy this day with his girlfriend.

He rode up the driveway to see El waiting on the porch.

She stood up immediately when she saw him.

Mike got off his bike and gently lowered it onto the grass, not breaking his eye contact with her. "El? Is everything okay?" He repeated his question from earlier.

El closed the space in between them quickly, clinging to him tightly in a hug. "I just missed you," she mumbled into his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her slowly, as if still confused. "I missed you too," he told honestly. He _had _missed her, but her behavior was strange, and it was beginning to worry him.

After a minute she pulled away, but took his hand, leading him inside. They walked through the living room and passed the doorway to the kitchen, where Mrs. Byers was quietly washing the dishes. As they made their way to El's new bedroom, he noticed the door to Will and Jonathon's bedroom was closed—which was unusual for both of them.

"Hey, is Will okay?" Mike asked, as she pulled him into her room and shut the door behind them. "He usually doesn't keep the door closed."

"Mike," she said softly, turning to face him. "I-I need to tell you something."

His eyes widened suddenly as realization hit him. "Are you—are you breaking up with me?"

El furrowed her brow in confusion. "No." She shook her head, taking his hand and sitting down on her bed.

He sat down next to her, a look of concern still on his face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." She looked down at their hands now, intertwining them tightly. "Mrs. Byers told us something."

"What is it?" He asked, trying to get her to look at him. When she wouldn't look up at him, he added, "Whatever it is, we can fix it."

At that she finally looked up at him, and he finally was able to see the sadness, and more prominently, the tears in her eyes. To him, her eyes had always been like an open book and it made his heart sink to his stomach. "She said…we're moving."

"Like to a different house?"

Tears began to fall down her cheeks and suddenly Mike knew that whatever she said next he probably didn't want to hear. "No…out of Hawkins." Her voice broke as a steady stream of tears fell down her face, but she didn't even attempt to stop them.

"Out of Hawkins? But how…that can't be possible," he said, shaking his head. "Why would she want to move out of Hawkins? This is Will's home, this is _your _home!"

El shook her head slowly, her body shaking as she attempted to contain the sobs that fought to escape her throat. It was true. This was the only place she'd ever known. She'd only known life here in Hawkins, with her friends, with Mike. The thought of living anywhere else—without any of them—terrified her in a way she'd never felt before.

"We'll figure something out," he said, feeling his stomach twist into knots. Mike had such a strange feeling in his chest. His whole body felt odd—he couldn't explain what he was feeling, but he tried to keep himself in check. He knew that if El saw him reacting badly, it would just upset her further. "We'll talk to Mrs. Byers. I'll have my mom talk to Mrs. Byers. She can't—" His voice cracked—he couldn't help it. "She can't take you away."

"I don't—I don't want to leave," she cried, looking up at him. She hadn't told Mrs. Byers this when she sat her and Will down. She hadn't reacted much at all when Mrs. Byers broke the news to them. She'd immediately gone and called Mike.

Mike swallowed heavily. He could feel his throat tightening and tears gathering at the corners of his eyes but he pushed them back. "El listen, we're going to fix this, okay? We'll figure this out. We'll figure _something _out."

"But how do you know?" Her eyes were puffy and red now, shining with tears.

"I-I don't know," he confessed. "But no matter…no matter what happens, _nothing _will change between us, okay? I promise."

"Promise," she repeated softly, reaching up to touch his cheek. A lone tear fell down her face as she looked up at him.

"It's gonna be okay," Mike told her.

El gently ran her thumb across his cheek, the welt that had previously covered it was now only a faint scar. "Are you gonna be okay?"

_Friends don't lie. _He could hear her voice in his head, as he stared down into her eyes right in front of him. It was a good question, and although he didn't want to lie, he didn't want to tell her the truth right now either. "I will be," he said honestly. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Does Will know?"

She nodded, looking down and removing her hand from his cheek.

"I-I think I should go check on him." Mike didn't want to leave her, but he also couldn't just sit and pretend not to be upset about the idea of losing El all over again. "Make sure he's okay." He stood up from the bed, gently letting go of her hand.

"Mike," she said, stopping him in his tracks.

He turned to face her.

"You'll come back?"

"Of course, yeah," he said nodding. "I'll be right back."

Mike turned and continued walking towards the door. It was only when he'd made it out into the hallway and shut the door behind him that he leaned against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut. He willed it all to go away—the pain, the loss, and the guilt. He wished Hopper were still here. Hopper would never take El away again, he knew that. If anything, he'd be the one to convince Mrs. Byers to stay. If only he could go back, and somehow fix everything.

"Did she tell you?" came a voice.

Mike opened his eyes to see Mrs. Byers standing at the end of the hallway. He stood up straighter. "Y-Yeah, she told me."

"I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think it were for the best for everyone," she said solemnly.

"Can I ask why?" Mike asked hesitantly. He couldn't tell if he was mad, or sad, or frustrated, but he felt like he needed an answer.

"I…I just think it'd be best if we got a fresh start." The older woman shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah…I guess I get that." He didn't get it. He didn't get it at all. "I should probably go check on Will," he said, stepping towards the other closed door. He didn't wait for Mrs. Byers before opening the bedroom door and stepping inside. "Will?"

Will was sitting on the end of the bed that was furthest from the door, staring at the wall across from him.

Mike shut the door behind him, and cautiously walked over to his friend. "Will, are you okay?"

"Did El tell you?" Will asked without looking up at him.

"Yeah, she did."

"It's bullshit," he snapped. "It's total bullshit."

"We'll figure something out," Mike said, sitting beside him. "You guys can't leave Hawkins, this is your home!" He said it to El too, but it was also true for Will. Hawkins was the only place either of them had ever known.

"She keeps saying that it's for us, that we all need a fresh start, but I don't believe it. She never even asked us if we wanted to move!" Will said, the frustration rising in his voice. "We've always lived here, and now all of a sudden she wants to move away? She's not even waiting until we graduate or something. Jonathon won't even get to graduate from Hawkins High! We'll have to start all over, and I'll be the nerdy loner and I won't even have—" Will cut himself off in realization. "I won't even have you guys." He finally turned to look at Mike, Mike who had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. His first friend that he could remember. The one who had broken so many rules to find him when he was missing in the Upside Down. The one who practically camped out by his bedside when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer.

"It's totally unfair," Mike agreed, feeling the need to balance Will's temper. "Our party will be incomplete without you and El." And it was then that it suddenly hit him that not only would he be losing his girlfriend, he'd also be losing one of his best friends. Will was one of his first friends _ever. _They began the Party together. He'd been there for everything—and after everything he'd been through, now he was just…leaving? "We'll figure it out," he insisted. "We _will._"

"What if we don't?" Will asked, looking at him. "What if my mom doesn't change her mind?"

Mike's stomach felt sick at the thought. It never crossed any of their minds that they would ever have to face this. Of all the things they'd gone through, he didn't think any of them—especially the Party—were prepared for this. "Then we'll figure that out too," he said finally, looking back at one of his best friends.

"She probably hasn't even told Jonathon yet." Will shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Are you going to tell the rest of the Party?" Mike asked, glancing down.

"I'm going to have to, eventually," Will said. "But probably not for a little while. I don't really want to talk about it anymore, and all they'll ask are a bunch of questions."

Mike nodded. He didn't blame Will for wanting to keep quiet about this, but he had a feeling that El would eventually tell Max and it would spread from there. "If you want…I could tell them," he offered.

"Even though that'd probably be easier…I should probably tell them. But thanks Mike."

Mike took that as his cue to leave his friend to his thoughts, as well as because he finally felt like he could talk to El without getting too upset. He stood up from the bed. "Are you going to be okay?" He turned to face Will.

"I guess…what about El? How is she?" Will looked up at Mike, and Mike could see the concern in his face—which was a total turn around from the last time he and Will talked about El.

"She's, uh…" Mike sighed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "She's okay…but I think she's scared. This is all she's ever known. This is _everybody _she's ever known."

"This really isn't fair to her," Will said.

And Mike had never agreed with Will so much before that moment.

...

When Mike walked back into El's room, he found her sitting on her bed, knees pulled close to her chest and her arms tightly wrapped around them, staring out the window on the opposite wall.

"El?" He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey, don't shut me out." Mike gently reached over and pushed her arms and knees down.

"Mike," she said softly, finally looking up at him.

He moved so that he was sitting more comfortably on her bed, and as he did so El crawled closer to him, moving so that she practically straddled his lap.

She gently took his face in her hands, examining his face very closely.

Her sudden closeness took Mike by surprise, but he only watched her with a furrowed brow. "El? What are you doing?"

"I want to remember you…just like this," she said.

"El," he said, trying to hold back a grin. Mike couldn't help but think of how adorably innocent she was at times. "It's not like I'll never see you again. And we don't even know when you're leaving. We have time."

"But what if something happens?"

"Nothing can happen that will make me change how I feel about you," he said. "And there is nothing that will keep me from you."

A ghost of a smile spread across her face, his words causing her cheeks to turn a light shade of pink. "You won't lose me," she reminded him, repeating the words she'd told him before.

"Do you promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

**A/N-This chapter took a long time to write, mostly because of the scene of having Will, El and Mike react differently to the news of the move. I feel like it's kind of an important point not only in this particular fanfiction but kind of in the whole Stranger Things world so it took me a long time to write and decide how I believe the characters would've reacted if it were shown in the show. HOWEVER, I can totally respect if you have a different idea of how they would react, but this is the best way I could think of. **

**Thank you to everyone who's been so supportive of this story :) Look out for the next chapter! **


	11. The Last Night

**A/N-I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS!**

**Hey guys! **

**Long time no post! So remember when I said that I would be posting the final chapter before I went back to school? Well... that _was _the original plan. However, time got really short and things got really hectic so I literally started this chapter on the drive back to school but only just finished it TONIGHT. The first two weeks of school have been hectic and I haven't had the time to write and finally finish but TONIGHT I did! **

**SO, I feel bad because I definitely got out of the groove of writing so if the second half of the chapter seems a little off, I apologize. It wasn't exactly the "epic ending" I'd envisioned for this story but I hope you all enjoy the LAST chapter of Aftermath! **

* * *

"So that's it then? You guys are moving away?"

El nodded solemnly at her friend. She and Max were sitting in her room while Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas were across the hall in Will and Jonathon's room. "We don't know when," she offered weakly. She still wasn't thrilled with the idea, but as time went on Mrs. Byers seemed more firm in her decision. The only one who'd attempted to talk her out of it so far was Jonathon, and even his attempt was half-hearted, though El couldn't figure out why.

"Are you sure it's out of Hawkins? Not just a bigger house?" Max clarified. She was clearly upset at the matter, but for some reason it was easier for El to tell Max than it was for her to tell Mike.

"Mrs. Byers wants a 'fresh start,'" El repeated, remembering what the older woman had explained to her and Will.

"How do you feel about it?"

The only person who had asked her about how she felt about the move was Mike. At the time, she was absolutely terrified. In all honesty, she still was. "I-I don't know," she said. "I've never…never been away from Mike." This was excluding the 353 days that Hopper had convinced her that staying away from Mike was for his and her friends' safety, but even then she was still in Hawkins. "I know you said there's more to life than boys," El went on. "But—"

"I get it, El," Max interrupted her, giving her friend a weak grin.

"With Hopper…gone…Mike makes me feel safe." She looked down at her lap. It wasn't as if she _couldn't _live without Mike by her side, it was more so that she didn't _want _to. Seeing him reminded her that of everything good in her life—all the people and things she'd gotten to meet and do, all the good food she'd gotten to eat, new traditions she'd gotten to take part of. He reminded her that she was human, and that no matter what she'd done or what she couldn't do, he would care for her, and she deserved to be cared for. He'd brought her into a life full of people who cared for her.

"How did he take it?"

"Upset," El told her, glancing back up at Max. "But so was I." After a brief silence, El looked back up at her friend, a little more attentively. "How are you?"

Max glanced down at her lap, but quickly returned her gaze to El. "I'm okay."

El gave her a knowing look. She knew Max better than that, even in the short time they'd been friends.

"I am! Honest. It's just…hard watching my parents, you know? I've lied to them before but for something like this…" Max shook her head.

El immediately felt guilt rising in her chest. It was _her _fault that any of the lies that consumed her friends' lives ever needed to start in the first place. And although they were all well versed in telling anyone 'what happened', she'd forgotten this was Max's first real step into that life. "I'm sorry," she said suddenly.

Max looked confused. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"It's my fault," El clarified. "That you have to lie to your parents."

"El, I don't know what happened to you in that lab," Max said, putting a hand on her friend's knee. "But I would tell a million lies if it meant keeping you here and safe."

El allowed a ghost of a smile to spread across her face.

"And none of this is your fault," Max told her. "I don't blame you at all."

The words seemed to lift a huge weight off of El. She didn't have the heart to come out and express her guilt to Max, or to ask if the redheaded girl had any hard feelings towards her. But to hear her say that made El feel a lot better. "Thank you, Max."

"And hey, we'll still be friends even when you do move away," Max went on. "After everything that's happened, you're not getting rid of me that easily." The smile that had appeared on her face was contagious, spreading to El's immediately. _Maybe things would be okay, _El thought to herself. Maybe she really wasn't the monster after all.

…

Mike and Will had broken the news to Dustin and Lucas across the hall in Will and Jonathon's room—and the reaction had been only slightly explosive.

"Moving?! You can't be serious!" Lucas exclaimed. "After _everything _that's happened, you're just gonna move?!"

"It's not like I want to!" Will shot back, coming off a little sharper than he meant to. "It's my mom's idea," he said, voice softening. "Apparently she's been thinking about it for a while."

"And Jonathon's totally okay with it?" Dustin asked. "He's totally cool with just going to a whole new school his _senior year_?"

Will shrugged helplessly. "I can't tell. He seems sad, but he also doesn't seem against the idea. I think he's just trying to make my mom happy."

All the boys were silent at that. They didn't exactly understand how moving out of Hawkins and taking Will, Jonathon and El away would make her 'happy.' But they'd all noticed to some degree how Mrs. Byers seemed very solemn ever since the night at the mall.

"What are we going to do?" Lucas asked, looking back and forth between Mike and Will.

"I told my mom about it to see if she'd try to convince Mrs. Byers to stay, and she was kind of upset, but she said after all this sad stuff happening, maybe it's best," Mike said, sounding somewhat defeated.

"I just don't understand how this is 'best'," Dustin said.

"She's splitting up the Party!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Did Jonathon tell Nancy?" Will asked, looking at Mike.

Mike nodded solemnly. "He came over and told her and they were in her room forever. When she finally came out, it looked like she'd been crying."

"So what do we do?" Lucas asked again, looking at Mike.

Mike looked at Will, as if asking for his idea. The gesture seemingly surprised Will, and it showed on his face. "I…I don't know."

"Then maybe…we don't do anything," Mike spoke up.

"What?!" Dustin, Lucas and Will all asked incredulously.

"You're telling me you have absolutely no plan for this at all?!" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow at Mike. "You're just gonna let it happen?"

"No one's _letting _anything happen," Mike said. "But if this is Will's last summer living in Hawkins, if Mrs. Byers is completely convinced to move away, shouldn't we just enjoy what time we have left living in the same town?"

"Mike, now is not the time for you to go soft," Dustin said, the frustration evident in his voice. "This isn't El you're talking to. Will _and _El are _moving. _And we don't even know how far away!"

"Maybe it is easy cheesy, but is it really such a bad idea? I don't see you coming up with anything. Or you!" Mike snapped, gesturing to Dustin and Lucas.

"Mike is right," Will spoke up finally. "We've got nothing, and it sucks. It's totally unfair. But if it's happening, I don't want to waste the rest of the summer with you guys being mad about it."

* * *

Three months had passed. Three months had gone by, of the Party spending as much time as possible together. A few weeks after Mrs. Byers told Will, Jonathon and El that they were moving, everyone had kind of settled down about it. The Party themselves had actually grown silently optimistic. Maybe Mrs. Byers _wouldn't _move. Maybe she wouldn't be able to sell the house, or find another. It wasn't until September that Mrs. Byers found a new house that would comfortably accommodate the family. But it wasn't until October that she found someone to buy their house, and everything with their new house became official.

But ever since the day Will and El told him about Mrs. Byers finding another house, Mike woke up each day with a pit in his stomach. When would be the last day that he got to see El and Will? Would today be the day Mrs. Byers finally sold their house? It was a small, sick feeling in his stomach, that only worsened as the days passed.

If the rest of the Party felt the same way at all, they didn't show it. It wasn't until the night before Mrs. Byers had planned to pack up and move everything that they began to feel the weight of their situation. Over the past three months they had eventually accepted it as a reality, the idea of El and Will moving. This didn't mean that any of them were particularly happy about it.

That evening, after an entire day spent together doing all of their favorite things as a group, they all laid up on the hill—at first to listen to Dustin talk to Suzie for a while. But after a while, each Party member ended up lying back on the grass as the sky darkened over Hawkins.

"So is this really it?" Will asked. "I mean, I'm actually moving out of Hawkins tomorrow."

They all turned their heads to look at him. Will had never been the emotional type. It wasn't until after his inter dimensional kidnapping and then being possessed by said inter dimensional creature that he'd become a little better at communicating his feelings—even if it resulted in a shouting match with his best friend.

"It's just so…weird," he said.

El, who was lying next to Mike, laced their fingers together between them, as if in response to Will's comment.

"It's not like we'll never see you again," Dustin reminded him, the mouthpiece to Cerebro still clutched in his hand.

"Maybe your mom will bring you to visit sometimes. Or Jonathan can drive you guys up here," Max added from her spot between Lucas and El.

"Yeah, you guys can spend the night at my house," Mike said. "And Jonathon will stay with Nancy."

"It won't be the same," Will said, his voice sounding sad.

"Has anything about this summer been 'the same'?" Dustin asked.

"I guess not," Will said, not losing the tone in his voice.

"Just because we're not playing DnD in my basement anymore doesn't mean we won't friends anymore," Mike said, echoing his words from earlier that summer. "I should've said that before."

…

Later on that night, as the rest of the Party had left to their respective homes, Mike was having a hard time getting himself to leave El's side. He knew they would have to separate eventually, but he knew as he did the next day would be that much closer, and El and Will would leave Hawkins.

They were sitting on her bed, his arm around her and her head resting on his chest. "Mike?" El's soft voice broke the silence that surrounded them.

"Yeah, El?"

"You said that nothing will change…between us?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Of course not," he said, sounding confident. A lot of things had happened this summer that Mike couldn't control; a lot of things that most kids his age could literally only dream about. It only made him all the more determined to keep the one thing he could control the same. And regardless of any of that—Mike was sure that his feelings for El would never change.

"You won't forget me?"

"El," Mike said, pulling away from her slightly. He sat back from her so that he could see her face. It seemed that over the last few months her hair had grown out even more, although her clothing had returned to being hand-me-downs—by choice this time, she'd wanted to wear a lot of Hopper's old flannels—she still looked beautiful to him and it left Mike in awe of how far she'd come since the night they'd found her in the woods. "I could never forget about you."

Her wide, glossy brown eyes looked up at him as the smallest smile appeared on her face.

"We'll see each other again soon too, remember?"

"Thanksgiving," El said nodding. They'd talked about Mike coming to see the Byers' in their new house next month. Mike had hoped for sooner, but since he couldn't drive and had to rely on Nancy, this was the best they could do.

"Exactly, I'll talk to my mom about it tonight."

El looked down. "When you…leave?"

"What if we ask Mrs. Byers if you guys can come up for Christmas?" Mike had heard what El said, but he didn't want her to think about it. He didn't want to think about it. The indescribable feeling in his chest had returned, and the thought of leaving El's bedroom for the last time only made it worse. "I'm sure she'd—" His voice caught in his throat, but he managed to push on. "She'd do that, right?"

She nodded and it was then that Mike had noticed that her sentences had become shorter and shorter as the conversation progressed.

"Hey," he said, leaning closer to her. "El, it's going to be okay, no matter what happens."

"But how do you know?" Her eyes shone with tears as she looked up at him now. It was the most heartbreaking sight he'd seen in a long time. "How do you know that things will be okay?"

"We've made it through so much worse than this," Mike reminded her. "Three hundred and fifty-three days, remember?"

"How will I know that you're okay?"

"I'll call you all the time. On the phone _and _on Cerebro. You'll get so sick of me," he added as a joke.

Her brows furrowed slightly. "_Sick_ of you? Like, the flu?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, unable to keep a grin from spreading across his face. "I mean, you'll get tired of hearing from me."

El shook her head, her expression serious. "I could never be _sick _of you." She crawled back over to him, resting her head against his shoulder. "Please don't leave," she said softly.

Mike knew that if he didn't go home, his mother would be furious. She'd probably lecture him about how after everything that happened he should always call her to tell her where he was and if he was okay. His father would simply agree with his mother, echoing her words in the firmest tone he could muster. Normally, as much as he didn't find it threatening, Mike usually tried to avoid such confrontations at all costs. He and Nancy had done their best to fly under the radar of their parents for so long, and although it wasn't difficult, they still always tried their best. But as he sat on El's bed, _his _El, his _girlfriend's _bed, and she looked up at him with the eyes he saw on that dark November night almost two years ago exactly, he suddenly didn't care about the repercussions of his parents, or whatever punishment he would have to face at home. "I won't," he said, as they readjusted their position so that they could rest more comfortably on the bed. "I promise."

* * *

**A/N-Thank you to everyone-every single one of you-who has read and reviewed this story even once! I was super nervous to try my hand at Stranger Things fanfics but I feel very confident in what I've put out. That being said, however, I'm not sure if/when I'll be posting again. (Only because of school and all the time commitment that comes with that.) The only reason I really started posting ST fics was because it was summer and I had a lot of free time on my hands. However I do plan to still read whatever's posted, and maybe I'll try to write a oneshot or two in between but we'll see. **

**Regardless of anything, thank you all for being so sweet and patient with me. I appreciate it so very much. **

**PLEASE give me your final thoughts on this story! I would love and appreciate it so much! **


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